To What End? 3: What Dreams are Made of
by Furiouswind
Summary: Time passes even without him. They have moved on after he sacrificed himself for their sake. But their past continue to haunt them, and their enemies will stop at nothing to unleash the hell that was once sealed. All hope rest in the hands of their future
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's been awhile since i looked at my Star Ocean fics. And i started playing the fourth game not too long ago. It is a great game, and i was thinking back to Star Ocean 3.... ah.... such times were so nice. Well, anyway, as some of you wanted, i've written up my third installment of my To What End series. Personally, i'm not too happy with this.... This version is already a revised copy, but i still think it lacks something.... how about a good story plot? Yeah, i think i've been missing that from most of my stories....

So welcome! To my last installment of To What End, What Dreams are Made of. Remember, don't enjoy my story? Turn off your computer, and turn away. No need to shout at me at what you don't like, or what i should be doing. This is my fic, so i do what i want. If you don't have anything constructive to say, shut it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean.... and now that i think of it, maybe i don't want to. I would most likely screw it up.

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**Star Ocean 3  
To What End3:  
What dreams are made of**

**The Sword and Shield**

He wondered about many things. Things that ranged from the fates of star systems, to the tiniest detail. His mind was constantly crowded with thoughts. Unwanted, and maybe unnecessary thoughts. Yet he never really showed others just how clouded his mind was. After all, he had an image to uphold, and he was damn good at making sure he held it. But maybe some knew. Some knew that despite his carefree, easy-going, and rather impulsive nature, he is one who thought about a lot. Okay, so most of his thought process isn't exactly where he needs them to be. But at least he has thought over things. Mulled over, was the more proper term. Though it would seem hardly the case to anyone right now, he was thinking about his situation.

Situations like these usually never call for much thought, at least in his mind. These were the sort of times when his blood would boil over, adrenaline saturating within his veins, and he would go all explosive. Yet why was he thinking? Maybe it was something that he hadn't done in a long while, and so his mind decided to wake up from its slumber and take over. Dust blew past the rubble he was leaning against, while another hole just appeared slightly the left of his right shoulder. He stared at the hole. The burn was identical to ones from a Melisious grade disintegrating beam rifle. So they decided to bring out some big guns. He could hear his own heartbeat beat within his own ears. How odd, that he never actually took time to think about these small things in times like these.

Somehow, in dangerous and life-threatening situations like this, it would seem that thinking about small things seem to bring about a new perspective on them when compared to observing the same object in times of calm and peace. A sudden tug of his coat made his head jerk to the left, just as another hole opened up on the wall right where his head was. Maybe now wasn't exactly the best time for thinking. He turned and looked at the one who pulled his arm. A young man, probably about his age. Dressed in the deep blue colour of the military. The ES military. His right eye had a formation of circular symbols rotating in it. The power of sight, Clairvoyance. It was a minor power, compared to some others, but it was so intricate and complex, that only a few could use it.

It was actually a product from the Leingod industries, and maybe he had a hand in its testing. But he isn't as good at using that power as this young man. This man is barely hitting twenty, and he has seen more action on the field than most thirty year old soldiers. The ES military, one of the strictest, and most powerful military presence in the Eternal Sphere. Soldiers were drafted no matter what race, species, gender, or age. A large number of these soldiers were no older than he was when he took command. Thinking back, he knew it wasn't really a choice when he was signed up. It was like he was born to wear this uniform. His eye wandered to the rest of the group who stayed behind the rubble. They wore special assault uniforms, unlike him, and the young man who jerked his head out of the way.

The others wore thin, but extremely tough and durable Herrangas assault armour, dressed in the black assault attire, and had the helmets with a single eye screen projected from the helmet to display information. The men cowered as an explosion blasted just a few centimetres from their hiding place. He looked at the near-by pillar as it shook and rattled. This building isn't safe anymore, and they all knew it. He looked to the young man, who seemed to be shouting something, but he couldn't hear the words. Maybe he should try to focus. Or maybe the last blast made him deaf. Who knows? But soon, he could start to hear again. Slowly, but surely. He was starting to make out the words from this man.

"Si-.... Sir-..... Sir!.... Sir! Are you-.... Are you al.... Are you alright, sir?"

"... Yeah... i'm fine."

He managed to reply. His head was feeling slightly lighter than usual, and he was feeling slightly elated. But about what?

"Thank goodness.... when you were hit with that poison, i thought we lost you."

Poison? Was this what it was? Poison? Funny, it never really felt like poison. It felt like a stimulant drug. Not that he did any on purpose. His mother had made sure that he never went 'astray' with her Spartan like child-raising methods. But back to the poison. So he was hit with poison. Yes, he remembered that. He saw an enemy trying to flank them, and he managed to take out that enemy, but in return, he was hit with a poison dart. It was strange how primitive weapons can cause the worst harm. Yet what was the enemy thinking? Using poison? Or was it-

"... Wraif... are you alright?"

He asked slightly out loud. He waited, and waited. So this was what the poison was about.

"Sir... looks like your symbol is locked."

"Yes.. apparently so..."

The man turned over, nodding to one of the armed soldiers. That man, in turn, crouched low, and ran over to his side, carrying a pack of medicine.

"Give me the Salaris."

The soldier passed the man a single syringe. The man tested the syringe, and carefully injected its contents into his vein. Following right after, the man applied another set of symbols. He felt his thoughts coming back to him. He was finally feeling the weight of reality, and the situation.

"... Wraif."

_'At your call.'_

A voice rang out within his head.

"You had some trouble, huh."

He smirked. Now he was feeling slightly edgy.

_'That was really some tiresome poison. Who knew these Fausions had the technology to make symbology sealing poison?'_

"Hmph, well, now that you're free, what do you say we... shake them up a bit?"

_'With pleasure.'_

"Lorden. Head to the extraction point by route G. Make sure nothing happens to the objective."

"Sir?"

The young man looked slightly surprised, but then he seemed to have understood.

"Yes sir."

Lorden looked over to the rest of the team, and nodded, leading the team away. The objective was a large box containing a secret technology produced by the Fausions. Obviously none of the Fausions wanted it to get into the hands of the ES military, as the two were at odds with each other. Well, the ES does have a lot of enemies, even though it is suppose to represent the entire Eternal Sphere. Dissenters, and people who were not happy with the way the ES government ran things were very common. Of course, there were the ever famous '4-D haters'. Those who believe that the beings of the Eternal Sphere were supreme beings and have the right to command all. No matter what time, what age, what era, there were always people like these. And that was where he came in. He clenched his fist tightly, focusing his energy as symbols started to appear around him. He would be breaking a few rules, but then again, who cared about those rules anyway?

"I stand above all, i stand before thee. My pain is my sword, my suffering is my strength. For all that i am, i am the blade that delivers hatred. Sending my anguish to cut through my foe-"

The energy burst sent a ripple, bending his surroundings. Swords of all types appeared around him, simply floating there.

"I am my own... Retribution!"

_'We who answer the call of blood shall pledge ourselves to thee.'_

Wraif, his symbol answered within his head.

"Ultio 3, 5 and 8."

Three swords in sheaths appeared on him. One by his left hip, one long one strapped on his back, and one short blade on his right arm. He stood up, and walked out of his cover. The enemy were numerous, but he didn't care.

_'45-60-70'_

Wraif told him almost immediately, and he drew the sword by his hip, throwing it to his right, where it flew straight, and pierced the enemy who tried to snipe him from another building.

_'30-50-40'_

He threw the short blade on his arm in the direction, while the sword he sent flying before re-materialised in its sheath. He continued to walk forward, throwing his swords in the direction which Wraif told him.

_'In-coming enemy fire.'_

"Let's dance."

The enemy managed to group up together, and starting shooting a storm of bullets and laser fire at him. The swords that dangled in mid-air around him flew about, deflecting each shot that tried to hit him. He released another burst of energy, and more swords appeared, but these were sent shooting off towards where the enemy were. These swords were different from those in sheaths, as these impaled enemies, and shattered, never to return. They were also used to collide with large enemy fire, like a cannon beam, or a rocket, instantly taking the hit instead of himself. Within fifteen minutes, all was silent. But he knew that there were still enemies about. He tapped his ear piece.

"Lorden. Where are you guys?"

'"_We're on the drop ship, coming to your location now._"'

"No... Turn around and head back to the 'Vertigo'."

'"_Sir?_"'

"Do not come into the hot zone with our objective. Once on the Vertigo, activate a teleporter, and home in on my position. I'll try to get to an area where they haven't jammed yet."

'"_... Yes sir. Lorden, out._"'

He heaved a sigh. His mission was complete. But now he had to figure out a way to get off this rock. Destroying the entire Fausion city could be useful, but that would only cause a headache, not to mention a great deal of paperwork and explaining to a lot of people. And personally? He didn't like paper, nor explaining.

"... Wraif, can you get a good idea on where we can teleport?"

_'I'm not your sniffing dog. Hang on..... on this coordinates.'_

His ear piece's computer activated, projecting an image before his eye and showed him a map. A single red dot was marked on the map. It wasn't too far from his position, but he was sure that there would be many ambushes waiting for him. How troublesome. Just as he was about to complain to no one in particular, his screen activated once more, though the audio feed came in before the video.

'"_YOU IDIOT!!!_"'

The sheer volume nearly sent him flying off his feet. The screen appeared, and a very angry bluenette was literally boring bullet holes into him with her dagger stares. She was pissed, and he was sure that even that line would be an understatement.

"You don't have to shout.... i'm not deaf."

'"_You might as well be. Can't you listen to instructions? You were meant to go in SILENTLY. I knew i should have disobeyed the admiral's orders and go down with you._"'

"But you didn't. You're always too obedient, and too calculating. Sooner or later, one of those traits will land you in trouble."

'"_Your irrational, impulsive, and explosive nature have gotten you into more trouble than any fleet of the ES can bring.... Stay put, i'm heading down to your position._"'

To his position? Normally that would be impossible, but knowing her, and knowing what her usual plan was, he couldn't say he was going to be too happy about her idea.

"You plan to orbital drop from the Vertigo to my position?! You could get yourself killed!"

'"_Now whose fault is that? And i'm already entering the atmosphere._"'

He looked up, and sure enough, a single flaming object was hurdling towards him. He did not like this one bit. He summoned his defensive swords, and they managed to cover him just as something crashed into the building he was in with maximum velocity. The 'something', in question, created a large crater before him, and when the smoke cleared, a single large ball of blue energy was seen in the hole. The ball slowly melted away, revealing a young woman with blue hair and emerald eyes. She looked very much like her mother, and she took much of her character from her mother as well, though she tended to be more level-headed than her mother when facing irritating things, events, or people.

She dusted her dark blue coat that was identical to his, though the rest of her uniform was the female version. A black blouse, matching mini-skirt, and knee-high boots. She dusted her deep blue beret, and checked her black biker type of gloves. She held the rank of Captain, as did he, but somehow her word held more weight than his, mainly because he was the more reckless of the two.

"... You know, you shouldn't orbital drop without proper equipment. Your symbol isn't going to withstand so many orbital drops."

He sighed, extending a hand to her, which she took. With one pull, he dragged her out of the crater. She stood at his height, and that meant that he was short for a guy, and she was tall for a girl. But they were actually of average height. Not too tall, not too short.

"I know my symbol best.... and you used Wraif beyond the restricted limits again, didn't you?"

".... I don't know what you're talking about."

"You may not, but the admiral had seen your little... 'dance'. And i don't think she's too pleased."

"Geh.... The admiral.... As long as she doesn't tell her mother, or ours, i think i'm safe."

"And you actually think that there are things that can escape the eyes of our mother?"

Now that he thought about it.... no. Nothing can escape his mother's eye. She was like an eagle that can catch its prey no matter what. Okay, skip eagle. She's a monster.

"So... why did you come all the way down here?"

"Knowing you, you would most likely destroy everything along your way, and not concentrate on defence. That's why i'm here. To cover you till we reach the extraction point."

".... I don't really need a cover."

She raised an eyebrow, and then eyed a wound that was on his arm. That was from a single stray shot that managed to get past his sword wall. She knew where it was, because they were connected. And sometimes that irritated him to know that he could not keep secrets from her.

"Are you doubting my defensive capabilities?"

She asked. He looked at her for the moment, before smiling.

"Yours? Never. If you got my back, i don't need to do anything. After all, you are the symbol of absolute defence, Seira."

"And you are the absolute attack... which is why you need to think before each attack, Sora."

* * *

A/N: Unlike my previous stories.... i haven't written a whole lot for this story before posting. So people, you may need to be patient. One more thing..... this last installment may be the shortest. Unless i can stretch it far, i don't think i can reach 50 chapters with this.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.... yup, i'm going to tell you guys how much time has gone by, and what has happened during that time in brief. About Fayt.... hmm, i'll probably throw in hints to let you guys know his fate (no pun intended). If you guys properly read my previous fic, you should know.  


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**The Silver Song**

Sitting up on the bed, he ran a hand down his bare waist. Not even a scar. It wasn't even a scratch to begin with. But Seira insisted that he came to the medical bay the moment he was brought back on-board the 'Vertigo'. He donned his shirt, getting off the bed and grabbing his coat. It just took one run with the 'sealer' that any wounds, if there were wounds in the beginning, were gone. Come to think of it, Seira literally dragged him into the medical bay.

Shouldn't she be getting a check as well? She did an orbital drop without an atmospheric suit, or even an orbital pod. She just jumped from the ship, which was still in space, and shot down into the planet with only her symbology to protect her. It was possible for her, but he wished she would stop being so reckless, not that he has any right to say that. Her symbology also slowed her descent, allowing her to crash into the ground without causing an explosion that could wipe out an entire city. He stepped out of the medical bay, and saw Seira standing there. He turned and walked off, putting on his coat as Seira tailed him.

"Do you really think you should be getting up so soon?"

She raised the usual question whenever he got injured.

"It wasn't even a scratch. I don't get it why you're so upbeat about every small little wound."

"Small wound?! The enemy had disintegrating rifles! One hit could vaporize you!"

She raised her voice enough that some of the crew members and soldiers nearby turned to look. He had to smile at the way she worried about him. It never gets old. A soldier snapped at his presence and handed him a screen chart as he walked past. His wrist computer picked up the data transfer instantly, and displayed him the chart. He scrolled through the details. No casualties, objective secured, extra Intel. He should let Reina run this. Intelligence was her forte, after all.

"Sora! Are you listening to me?!"

He stopped and turned to face Seira.

"I am. Who do you think i am? You should know me better, Seira."

"You were too reckless out there, Sora. You placed your team in danger, had violated symbology code five under section-"

"'Section one six', yeah, yeah, i've heard this a lot."

Sora waved it off, continuing to walk with Seira once again in hot pursuit.

"I had you shielded! Can't you be more patient and wait for a better opening? I mean, you could have gotten more than a scratch!"

"One opening is better than none. I won't let any opportunity slip when i see it."

"Then think what would happen if you got hit! Those rifles could burst through any symbological shielding-"

"But your shielding isn't normal, now is it?"

Sora turned, facing Seira with a smile, though the same couldn't be said for Seira, who was practically shooting lasers with her eyes. The two had conflicting emotions all over their faces. Sora was smiling, and Seira was steaming.

"You don't get it, do you? What would happen if you were killed? How would mother feel? How would Rey and Faite feel?"

Sora flinched at that statement. His family. That was always a touchy topic. It was rather unfair for Seira to use that as an excuse.

"If you were gone..... what would happen.... to me?"

Seira's voice quivered as tears started to form in her eyes. Sora scratched his head, not liking where this was going. It was time to lighten the mood.

"Well, without me, you would have one less rival in the races."

Sora saw that his sentence made Seira's tears swell up even more. Okay, maybe lightening the mood didn't help. He sighed, stepping up to Seira. He caught her tears with his finger, wiping them away for her.

"Don't worry, Seira. I won't go anywhere. You should know that. I will always be by your side.... didn't we promise each other that?"

He showed his small finger. Seira sniffed, and looked at the finger, before she managed to form a smile. She hooked her little finger with hers, smiling thoughtfully at the memories that she held. Yes, they had promised each other many things since young. But this one promise was special. No matter what, they would be there for each other. Inseparable. Sora smiled, and hugged her tightly, letting her scent linger in his nose for a while.

"Nothing will let us be apart. I am your sword, cutting through your pain."

"And i am your shield, protecting your fragile self."

* * *

The two made their way to the bridge, where a certain silver haired woman was waiting for their arrival. The moment the two stepped onto the bridge, she turned her chair to face them, with arms crossed. Her hair fell down slightly pass her shoulders, and she had a hair clip to keep the left half of her fringe from covering her emerald eyes. Sora and Seira snapped to salute her. She eyed the two, particularly Sora. And Sora was feeling the weight of her stares.

"Sora Leingod.... care to explain your actions?"

She questioned, her voice as sharp and cold as the nearest ice demon dragon. Sora swallowed hard. This woman is one no one would want to mess with.... ever. She was usually calm, level-headed, and calculative, even in the face of death. But there was only so much a person's patience can hold, and when this woman blows, she can be fiercer than a whole fleet of 'Bravery' class battleships, not to mention scarier. The entire bridge tensed up, with no one able to make a single move. No one even dared to breathe. The silence was killing them. Slowly, but surely. Then the woman sighed, releasing her murderous aura.

"Seira has already chewed enough out of you for the usage of your symbol, so i won't say much about it."

She leaned back in her chair, pulling new screens that detailed the mission status, ship's log, and the people who were assigned to the mission. She marked each other off swiftly, but also with great precision.

"Just wait till your mother hears about this."

"She wouldn't.... if you don't tell."

Sora said as he pulled a chair for himself. Seira did the same.

"I may not tell.... but you should know our parents. They have eyes and ears everywhere. I wouldn't be too surprised if she hasn't already heard about it."

"True..."

Though Sora did not want to admit it. His mother really did have eyes and ears everywhere. Hiding anything from her was nearly impossible. He looked up to the woman, sighing.

"I'm screwed.... aren't i?"

"Most definitely.... another demotion. Aren't you sick of being stuck at a low rank already?"

She raised an eyebrow, before pulling out a new screen. This one was Sora's data.

"Sora Leingod... outstanding performance on field, promoted several times till finally reaching rank of fleet admiral. But due to several... personality issues, he was demoted all the way down to Captain."

She read out loud, making Sora's face burn red.

"Oh shut it. You've already known the entire story anyway. No need to rub it in. You're a different type of evil, Kirimi."

"And so i am. Each of your demotion was due to the fact that you kept disobeying orders, going in guns blazing, and using your symbol past your restrictions. Your mother, and mine, have warned you countless times already. I was hoping that you would be aware of this by now."

"Hmph, they were the ones who placed these ridiculous rules and restrictions, not to mention that THEY were the ones who demoted me!"

Kirimi sighed, shaking her head as Sora flared up. Seira pushed Sora back down into his seat.

"Seira... you don't need to be demoted with him, you know. You have an outstanding performance, and there was never a need for you to be demoted."

Kirimi turned to Seira, and the bluenette shook her head slowly.

"No... i work best if Sora is beside me, and the same can be said for Sora. Where he goes, i go."

".... Yeah, sure.... the 'incest twins' have sure gotten it tough."

"HEY!"

Sora once again got up from his chair, and had to be forced back into his seat by Seira again. Kirimi shook her head in disbelief. Really, without Seira, Sora would be a handful, though the two were already considered quite a handful, as subordinates. As equals to her, they were her best friends. Though Sora was the one who had the charm to attract a lot of people to his side. Kirimi must admit, that that was one thing about Sora that she liked.

"Because you two are so close, even as twins, that people start up such rumours.... I only have a sister, so i don't know what it feels like having a twin... But even as twins, i think there should be certain lines that shouldn't crossed."

Was Kirimi feeling jealous of Seira and Sora's attachment to each other? Maybe, but Kirimi had made sure it didn't show.

"We know that. But ever since dad left, all we had was each other. Mother was too busy with taking care of Rey and Faite."

Seira said, since Sora didn't like talking about it. For Sora, his family was a touchy subject. Especially their father. No one likes talking about it. Kirimi nodded her head.

"I know that.... but not many others do. So what you two are doing, that may be fine to us, may not be to others.... like how you two still share the same room up till now."

That, Sora and Seira had no come back. It was odd for many others to see a boy and a girl, silbings, not to mention twins, still sharing the same room, and same bed for twenty years of their life. They weren't incest, lovers, or anything of that kind. But their bond as twins who struggled through their childhood together had grown too strong that they were hardly seen without the other being close by.

"Moving on... so tell me, why did you guys choose this mission, and on this date?"

"Sora chose it."

Seira immediately pointed to her twin brother.

"What?! Hey! don't push the blame onto me! You lost too!"

"You were the one who made that stupid bet, not me."

Seira shot back, making Sora slightly unnerved, but he restrained himself from going too far.

"A bet?... You lost in a race? Weren't those races your.... what did you call them again?... 'Area of expertise'?"

Kirimi raised an eyebrow. Sora narrowed his eyes at the admiral, who was almost trying to contain her amusement.

"... So i lost. So what? I'll beat that guy next time!"

"Yes, yes... we've all heard that line before. So? What did he bet?"

Sora seemed to hesitate, not really wanting to say anything. Till he reached into his pocket and pulled out a-

"... A Polaris Candy?"

Kirimi didn't really know what to say. And she didn't say anything, because shortly after her stunned silence, she burst out laughing. She lost her composure twice thanks to Sora, and both were different sorts of losing her composure. This was another reason why she likes Sora. Only he and a few others know how to make her this different from her usual self.

"It's not like i wanted to do this.... it was a stupid bet in the first place. Anyway, the only place to get this candy is in the Faust System. And so we had to take this mission since it coincides with objective.... the only problem was-"

"The date."

Seira sighed, shaking her head.

"Hey! I didn't want to take it, alright? But there isn't another infiltration mission available in the Faust system.... So? Kirimi? Do you think you could get clearance for a rip-jump?"

The admiral turned to her console, pulling up screens of data of the ship.

"Getting clearance is no problem for us, but next time, make sure to make promises only if you know you can keep them.... Faite is going to be angry at both of you... and me."

"Faite isn't the type to do that, Kirimi."

Seira smiled reassuringly. Kirimi nodded, before turning to her navigations officer.

"Are we clear of the planet?"

"Yes ma'am. All systems green, at your call."

"Right. Let's get out of this hell-hole. Vertigo, engage Rip-jump."

* * *

**Earth, Veskra Music Hall**

Her heart was pounding hard against her chest. The chatter of the crowds in the hall fell upon her deaf ears. She couldn't hear them. She couldn't hear anything, besides her own heart. Her breathing was deep, and hard. She was nervous. Nervous actually didn't really describe it. It was something more than it, but because of it, she just couldn't put a word to it. Nervous was a word that she could still use. She could barely hear when the announcer announced her name, and the entire hall exploded into an applause. She tried to calm herself down. It was now. She did not look back. She never did. Taking a deep breath, she took that step out.

The lights that flashed down on her nearly blinded her vision, but she wasn't focusing on the audience. She was looking at one thing. The large grand piano in front of her. It was a rare one. Made from real and authentic wood. Designed by the last authentic piano maker, this one nearly cost the same as a planet. But for her, her mother and grandmother were willing to spend as much as they could, or as they wanted. She sat down on the piano chair, the cushion was firm under her one piece snow white dress.

She stared down at the keys. Normally, she would crack her fingers, and start pounding away with no care. The music rooms in her house were sound-proof, after all. But now, she kept her hands on her lap. Silence. That was all she ever heard. She did not turn to look at the audience. She knew who was there, and who wasn't. Her mother was there. But 'they' weren't there. They promised her. But running off for a mission. She did not hate them, but rather, felt disappointed.

'He promised.'

_'They will come. Believe in them.'_

A calming voice spoke in her head. She closed her eyes. Her breathing was calm. That's right. She believed in their word. She lifted her hands. And began to play.

* * *

Her hands moved like as smoothly as water. Her body was delicate, light. The music that was produced was pure, radiant, and majestic. The tune, the light melody, was like a portrait of a her emotions. Painting a serene picture of the notes. The music floated to the audience, who felt so moved, so captivated, they were drawn to it. Strong feelings that radiated, that sprang forth from her powerful play. Her hands moved flawlessly, so smoothly across the keyboard. It wasn't just music that was played, it was a story, it was gold to the ears, it literally gave life to the hall. It produced a light that wasn't artificial, or superficial.

It was like a warm, loving glow that came from within. It touched the people who listened, and it was like they were sucked into the music. Their worries all washed away with each note. Their pains forgotten together with the melody. Their emotions being played, no, not played. They were created. It made them believe, and hope in something. He knew. He simply smiled.

"... That's our sister, Seira. Our angel in full glory."

* * *

A/N: As explained, Sora and Seira are NOT incest. They are just too attached to each other.... i've seen a lot of twins in my life, and i noticed one thing that they all have in common.... they're all too attached to each other. Though Sora and Seira do not really feel romantic love for each other, they do become slightly agitated when the other is talking with a member of the opposite sex.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well, as planned, this is the chapter that explains what went on. It took me awhile to get all of the years, since i took too much liberty with the timeline in my previous fics, it would be too messed up if i didn't clear it up.  


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**Time Standing Still**

The year is Star Date (SD) 795. Twenty two years have passed since the famous battle of Elicoor II, where the forces of the then-new ES military forces, spear headed by the famous God-slayer, Fayt Leingod. History books had all different opinions on what had happened, but all agreed that the forces of the ES military were responsible for pushing back the Executioner army that had tried a second time to purge the Eternal Sphere of all sentient life. Though everyone seemed to think the war ended in that one battle, it was known by only those who were there that the true battle ended six years after that. And that battle had cost the Eternal Sphere its leader and one protector, Fayt Leingod, who went beyond the gates that spawned the Executioners and their ilk.

It was a hasty decision that the hero of the Eternal Sphere thought of, as he knew that there was no permanent solution to end the Executioners. He destroyed the gate from within, as destroying it from without would not affect it at all. But by jumping in, he left behind the one thing that mattered to him. His family. But life went on. The Pan-Galactic Federation was no longer the large power that it once was. A new power came in, called the Eternal Sphere Federation, or ESF. This new government was created to represent the Eternal Sphere, and its chairperson was none other than Maria Leingod, wife to Fayt Leingod.

The first government of the ESF were filled with people who fought side by side with Fayt Leingod, including Faren Linegard, who had an uncanny resemblence to Fayt Leingod, and some believed him to be the God-slayer's clone, or twin. Sophia Linegard, wife to Faren Linegard, and childhood friend to Fayt Leingod. Cliff Fittir, and Mirage Koas, the only two Klausians in the government, and they were the ones who raised Maria. Albel Nox, a rough warrior with a sharp tongue who came from Elicoor II. It was said that only Cliff and Fayt could rival his skills, and that he came to be Fayt's comrade only through respect on the battlefield. Nel Nox, wife to Albel, another warrior hailing from Elicoor II. It is said she aided Fayt when he first landed on Elicoor II before it became the popular trading hub that it is this date. Clair Lasbard, another woman from Elicoor II who also aided Fayt when he first landed. Her expertise in politics and management made her a very important person in the Government.

Her husband, Sole Lasbard, is a well-known scientist who made multiple discoveries. He has his own University on Syi IV, Earth, and Elicoor II. He is also one of the head researchers of the Leingod industries. Karin Loid, of the prestigious Loid family also holds an important position in the ESF government, being the head of the ESF's Military arm, the ES military. She was also one of the two bodyguards/advisors for Fayt Leingod. Kanai Koisk of the Seraph Koisk clan, the second of Fayt Leingod's close attendants, is also one of the members of Government, and she is also the head of Intelligence.

Fuin Barsoles, from the Barsoles family aided Fayt Leingod during the re-insurgence of the Executioners, contributing greatly to the liberation of Elicoor II during the war against the Yzaks and Vendeeni that ended in SD 773 with the treaty of 'Fated White Words' being signed. He aided Fayt Leingod once again during the battle of Elicoor II against the Executioners. He has opened multiple hospitals, schools, and other facilities all across the Milky way. He prefers not to be too involved with politics, though keeps close contact with the Leingod family and their friends. Yuin Carilin Barsoles, wife of Fuin Barsoles, who aided Fayt in the two wars with her husband. She, like her husband, does not like to involve herself in politics. She is known to be close with Kanai Koisk, and has an impressive military record, like her husband.

Each of these members were close to Fayt Leingod, and helped him during his battles, each fighting for their own reasons, but banded together under the God-slayer. Now they are each prominent figures within the Eternal Sphere, and has keep the peace within the Eternal Sphere. But nothing is perfect, and the creation of the ESF has made many factions unsettled. It was true, that while the ESF was simply a name to unite the entire Eternal Sphere, and that each government was still allowed to run their own systems, multiple rules were placed, making some unhappy. The ESF is the largest and most powerful organization within the Eternal Sphere, consisting of nearly ninety percent of all known space. It also has connections and a well-established alliance with the 4-D world.

Some of the dissenters complained that the ESF was too powerful, or that the people of the Eternal Sphere shouldn't be acting too friendly with people who tried to wipe them out. There were many reasons for the people who didn't joined the ESF, and they have tried to fight the ESF multiple times, but everyone seemed to know that once the ESF is your enemy, you would not live too long. However, that was only one of the many problems that the ESF faced. Times have gone by, and now a new crew steps forward to face the challenges of the past. For it is in the hands of our children, that we place our hopes and dreams in. They are our salvation. They are our dream.

* * *

A certain eighteen year old wandered through the pathway in the garden. Well, it wasn't so much a garden, than a forest. The Leingod mansion was big, and that word in itself was an understatement. The boy stopped by a pond, staring into the water as his thoughts started to collect. His reflection staring straight back at him, silent and yet seemingly mocking him. He ran his hand through his brown hair, then paused. Maybe dying it wasn't a good idea after all. It did not seem to suit him. But in his family, where everyone was a bluenette, he wanted to stand out. The moment his mother saw him with his new hair, she dropped the files and books she was carrying, and started to question him. More like an interrogation. But his saving grace was found when his older brother walked in, and then his mother turned her full attention, and wrath, to him.

Apparently, his older brother had gone off and done what their mother had told him multiple times not to do. To use their symbology. He stared at his palm. Symbology. A power that was complex, intricate, and devastating. The ones he and his siblings have were considered a special grade of symbology. Unlike the average type of symbols, the ones he and his siblings had were ones that held their own consciousness, symbols that were sentient beings, as well as being symbiotic. They were born with these symbols, fusing into one. He, and his siblings, each had the power to destroy worlds. Why was such a power given to him? He didn't ask for this. He didn't want it. It made him feel worse about his own position than before. He wasn't like others. He was a freak. He wanted to be normal, to live a normal life. But that wasn't possible, and he knew it. Not when he has this deformity.

_'Now, now... since when were you such a depressed brat?'_

A spiteful voice echoed within his mind. He wanted to ignore it, but knew that he couldn't. It was useless anyway.

"Shut up, Ruchifa."

The voice in his head chuckled at his words, but did not say anything after. His mother had told him once before that though symbols could not disobey their hosts, they could lead them down the road of destruction. Whispering words in their heads, slowing turning them mad. Her mother said that their father was driven mad before by his power. Their father... He hated his father. For what he had done to them, for leaving them. He had seen many nights where his mother had to cry herself to sleep. Alone in that bedroom, her sobs could be heard from down the hallway. When their father disappeared, their mother was lifeless, not even eating properly. All of their 'uncles' and 'aunts' came to visit, trying to cheer her up. But nothing seemed to work.

But Faite was born, and she was named after their father. Mother suddenly had a spark in her once more. She poured everything to raise Faite, leaving his two older brother and sister, and himself to grow up by themselves. But his mother had still paid some attention to him. But as time passed, it became clear that it was Faite that their mother doted upon. She was perfect. She looked a lot like their father, was kind, caring, soft-hearted, innocent, talented. His two older brother and sister were the pride of the family as well. They were only sixteen when they enlisted into the ES army, and by the age of seventeen, they were fleet admirals. They had taken over their father's old position. Though his older brother tended to be reckless, and ended up being demoted more times than he bothered to count. The older siblings got to where they are through hard work and perseverance. The youngest was talented and showered with love.

What about him? He had no redeeming features. He was told he resembled his mother in looks, but gave off his father's presence. What was that suppose to mean? He did not have his own self. He was always expected to be like his father, or his two older silbings, or even his own younger sister. He was expected to do something for himself. He was born into the life of the famous, the rich, the talented. He, who was born with nothing. He would never amount to anything. He was only a mere shadow of his family. And that would be where he would stand for a long time.

".... This hair really doesn't suit me."

* * *

The Leingod family, rich, famous, power. Consists of Ryoko Leingod, Maria Leingod, and the children that Maria and Fayt have. The oldest being Sora and Seira Leingod, male and female fraternal twins, age twenty. Rey Leingod, male, age eighteen. And Faite Leingod, female, age sixteen. The closest the Leingods have to having an extended family, the Linegards. They have constantly supported the Leingods after the battle in SD 773. Consists of Faren Lingard, Sophia Lingard, and the children. The oldest is Frey Linegard, male, age twenty. And Marian Linegard, female, age nineteen. The Nox family have supported the Leingods for a long time as well, acting more of an arm that would 'deal' with anyone or anything that had a problem with the Leingods. Consists of Albel Nox and Nel Nox. The children are Len Nox, female, age nineteen, and Kaine, male, age eighteen.

Cliff Fittir, and Mirage Koas have contacts throughout the Eternal Sphere, hold important positions and have powerful influence over governments. Their children, Stirn Koas, male, age nineteen. And Mira Fittir, female, age seventeen. No one knows why they have different surnames, though it must have something to do with a bet. The Lasbard family have supported the Leingods in science and politics. They are greatly favoured back on Elicoor II as ambassadors, and so have a great power over the trading routes in that region. Consists of Adray Lasbard, Clair Lasbard, and Sole Lasbard, who married into the family, stating that he wanted to throw away his past. Their children, Leon Lasbard, male, age twenty. And Sion, female, age eighteen.

The Barsoles family, powerful in the Pan-Galactic Federation, has a long history of great generals and fighters, but it has gone into decline once the ESF stepped in, stripping the Pan-Galactic Federation of its former power. It was placed under the care of Fuin Barsoles, who is now expanding into the arts, and politics. The Barsoles family consists of Fuin Barsoles, Yuin Carilin Barsoles, and their children. Shen, male, age ninteen. And Keil, female, age eighteen. The Loid family. Infamous during its peak, now only having Karin Loid, its current matriarch, break its tradition. The Loid family now serves both the Leingods and the ESF as generals, and personal guards. The family consists of Karin Loid, unknown husband, and the children. Kirimi Loid, female, age twenty. And Kairi, female, age eighteen. It is not known who is the father, as he is never seen with the family, and Karin Loid doesn't seem to want to disclose the identity of her husband.

The Koisk family, serving the Leingods as advisors, and also as personal guards, consists of Kanai Koisk, and her children. Her husband was killed in action during the battle of Seraph VII. Her children, Reina Koisk, female, age twenty. And Forrin Koisk, male, age nineteen. Each of these families hold immense influence and power in the ESF, and in the Eternal Sphere itself. Soon, a trial shall being that would test the resolution of these families. Would they stand? Or would they break?

* * *

A/N: Anyone confused by the family trees, just ask and i'll put up a table format. I use a table format that lines the kids up by ages so i wouldn't be confused so much. Yes, even i get confused.... and though i do like every single one the kids, i decided that there is simply too many of them. So i'm going to have a vote to decide who YOU guys want as part of the main group. The main group must have Sora, Seira, Faite, Rey. These four are Fayt's kids, so they are important. But the others.... well, you'll see their characters later, so just decide after that.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I was thinking of creating a side story, like "The adventures of Sora and Seira", but that sounded dumb....

Just to note: i'll be using some of the Japanese suffixes to express importance of some people.

nii/onii = older brother

nee/onee = older sister

-san/-sama/-chan (eg. nii-san/nii-sama) = added behind title, or name to show importance. -san is for someone you aren't very familiar with, or someone you respect. -sama is for someone who is above you in status and you respect. -chan is basically like someone you're close to, you find cute, etc.

* * *

**Songs from the Past**

Faite Leingod stared at the black and white keys of her piano. Something about music made her feel safe, whole. Faite never saw her father, ever. She only had pictures, and a couple of holo-videos to remember him by. But even those felt unrealistic. It was like there was a gaping hole in her life. One that can never be filled by anything but her father. It felt odd, sometimes, that she was the only one who had never seen her father. Almost everyone else has. Faite was the youngest in the family, and within the 'extended' family. She wasn't even born when her father disappeared. And even for that, she wasn't told why.

None of the kids were told why the famous Fayt Leingod had disappeared, nor telling them where he disappeared. But everyone else, besides her, had seen Fayt. It was odd, that even though he was her father, she doesn't even know him. Farin had been nice enough to try to act like her father, but it felt odd, unusual. It was a feeling that she could not really explain well. Faite leaned back in her chair, looking up at the roof of the glass dome of this music room. This room was created for her to feel at ease and play. Faite had been learning the piano since young, as it was something her grandmother did. Her mother encouraged her to learn, and she just went along with it. After all, she doesn't know what she wants.

When everything that she could ever want was already provided for her, what more could she want? Her ears perked when she heard shouting from down the hallway outside. Even though this room was meant to be sound-proof, Faite could pick up sounds from afar, mainly with the help of a certain symbol. It sounded like her mother. Most likely it was about Sora. So the scolding yesturday was stretched out to even today. Faite heaved a sigh. Her brother seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. A knock came from the door, before it slid open. Seira poked her head in, smiling to Faite, before entering, and closing the door behind her.

"Seira nee-sama..."

Faite wanted to stand up, but Seira just smiled, and shook her head.

"I was just told to get out of the room while mom scolds Sora. Sorry about the concert, we only managed to listen to the second half."

Faite shook her head in reply. No, she wasn't angry. Disappointed, sure, but they did come in the end.

"It's alright. Seira nee-sama and Sora nii-sama are always so busy. It was wrong for me to force you two to come and watch my concert... it wasn't even that good."

Seira smiled sweetly, going up and giving Faite and good tight hug.

"It was terrific. You shouldn't look down on your own performance. Have more confidence in yourself."

"... But somehow, i feel like there was something missing..."

"Like?"

"I... don't know."

Seira looked at Faite, before smiling again.

"Say.... why don't you play something now?"

"Huh?"

"I want to listen. Play anything."

"Erm... but i-"

"Don't worry, i won't criticize you. Anything that my sister plays is bound to be perfect!"

Faite smiled softly at that. Seira and Sora really doted on her. Seira was always so cheerful, like Sora, but she had the more calm personality. Seira had also worked hard, and put a lot of effort into what she does, earning respect from many. Faite looks up to Seira and Sora, more than them being her older brother and sister. They were out-going, friendly, kind, and seemed to know what they want. Seira wasn't in her uniform, but when Faite first saw Seira and Sora in their uniforms, she immediately stopped and stared in awe. They could do anything they wanted.

Now that Seira wants her to play anything. But Faite hardly played 'anything'. It was usually a piece her tutor, her mother, or her grandmother would pick out. She guessed she could play a piece from those. But it felt like she wasn't being honest. Then a thought went through her mind. There was a tune that was stuck in her head for quite some time. She couldn't remember where she heard it from, but she was sure that it was an old tune.

"... Okay... but erm... don't expect too much from it, okay?"

"Okay!"

Seira grabbed a chair, and sat down on it, waiting for Faite to start. Faite felt nervous now. Seira, a person she looks up to, was now going to hear her play a tune she had never practiced before. A tune that was simply in her mind. Faite slowed her breathing. Her mind paced the tempo. She placed her fingers delicately on the keys, and let the music take control. The tune was simple, yet complex. The melody flowed through her mind, translated by her fingers. It seemed like everything didn't matter as Faite continued to play her song. Everything now seemed to focus on her, and her music.

This song was unlike many others. It hard to figure out what type of song was it. It was like every single song was melded into one. It wasn't rough, but smooth. Hearing such a tune made Seira mesmerized. It wasn't unlike anything she had ever heard before. If one word could describe it, one word to tell how she felt in the presence of such a tune. It would be 'perfect'. But suddenly, Faite stopped. Seira snapped out of her trance like state, and noticed that Faite had tears in her eyes. Faite just sat there, frozen, as tears swelled up in her eyes.

"... Faite?"

Seira's calling jolted Faite back to reality, and the younger Leingod seemed to be surprised at herself.

"Huh? Oh... erm... i'm sorry. I don't know what happened... I-..."

Seira looked on worried at her sister, who tried to wipe away her tears, only have them replaced by more tears. Seira didn't like to see Faite like this, and pulled her into a hug, soothing the youngest with soft strokes to her head.

"It's alright... You did nothing wrong."

"It-... it was like.. i felt something so sad... that i couldn't help myself... why... why am i crying?"

Seira did not know what to say. What could she say? She could only hold onto her sister and let her cry till she was done. Once Faite was done crying, Seira took a handkerchief, wiping her sister's face.

"Are you alright now?"

Seira checked her sister, who nodded in reply. Seira smiled, getting up from her seat.

"It was a beautiful piece, where did you learn it from? Gestav? Vow langrian?"

Seira asked, as she walked over to the shelves nearby that held all of the musical scores for songs that the Leingod possess. Seira started to look through the scores, in hopes of finding the song Fait just played.

"... That... that wasn't a song i learned..."

"Huh?"

Seira turned to Faite, who was fidgeting with her shirt.

"I... i had this song... in my head just now. I thought that if i played something i learned from others... that Seira nee-sama would feel bored."

Seira stared at Faite for the moment. Something that she didn't learn? But came up on her own? Seira was shocked and amazed. Such a beautiful song was only created on the spot?

"... Did Regen teach you?"

Faite shook her head in reply.

"Regen didn't teach me this song... she's sleeping at the moment."

"Oh, i see.... So... the song isn't complete? Is that why you stopped?"

"... I... don't know... The song just... stops."

Seira noticed that Faite was feeling extremely uncomfortable, and Seira knew that Faite usually did her best to impress others. The youngest of the Leingods had always seen herself as someone who needed to prove to others that she could meet their expectations. But no one actually wants that. No one sees Faite as someone who has to meet the tough expectations of the Leingod family. Seira smiled softly, walking to Faite, and hugging her close. Faite was just too cute.

"It's alright, Faite... maybe one day you'll be able to finish this song. So cheer up, okay?"

Faite nodded her head, but still felt as though she had let her sister down.

"Hmm, you know, it's been awhile since we went out together. Why not we head towards the Jakson's, i heard that there's a new album from the 'Deskret Dancers'."

Faite's face lit up at that. The Deskret Dancers were one of her favourite bands, and though her mother, and grandmother doesn't really approve of that music (more so from her grandmother, than her mother, who just thinks she's too young to listen to heavy rock).

"Erm... i... i also want to buy new clothes."

"Sure! I was just thinking about getting some new clothes myself. Well, we'll have to wait till Sora gets out of mom's scolding.... Say, do you know where Rey went? I haven't seen him the entire day."

"... Rey nii-sama was in the garden..."

"Again?... sigh, i swear, that kid is just odd. Depressed and mischievous at the same time. One day, he's going to cause one heck of a problem."

* * *

She wanted to shout more at her son, but Seira managed to get in, and grab her twin away. Well, it wasn't like she wanted to keep shouting. Her throat was feeling parched already. She adjusted her glasses, leaning back in her chair in her study. Rubbing her temples as she collected her thoughts, the mother of four turned to her computer console, pulling up her research work. She had worked long and hard, as the chairwoman of the Eternal Sphere Federation, as the lead researcher of the Leingod research centres, as a mother. She was tired. Tired of all of the work that she had gone through. But she worked hard. She could not forget the day 'he' left. Her heart was torn, broken, shattered. She could still remember the days when she would seem dead to everyone, even to her children.

She had neglected her own kids, something that she had vowed never to do when she realized she was abandoned as a child. Abandoned wasn't really the right word, as her mother had clearly explained to her before. She had tried to forget the pain, raising Faite carefully, and focusing everything in her work. Her friends had tried to get her to rest multiple times, but she felt like if she didn't work, that everything he did would be in vain, that his disappearance would amount to nothing. Her research had to continue. She had find a way out. Every single one of her kids had them. This was one thing that she didn't understand. Why did he do this? For what purpose? Wasn't it over? She had wondered if it was true, that it wasn't the end of the battle against those demons. But even so, she didn't want her children to face such dangers. She could protect them. She had the ability. She could protect all of them.

'Do not push yourself, mistress.'

"I'm pushing anything, Veskrat.... I have to find out a way to prevent the same thing that happened to my husband, happening to my children."

Exactly, the part of losing control over their symbols was a threat that she knew all too well. She had to find a way to restrict, control, and eliminate all 'bugs' from their genetic symbology. Unlike hers, her husband's, and Sophia's, her children had symbology that were considered 'sub-par'. Their power levels were less than the original three in pure raw strength, but that didn't mean that they were weak. They were based off the original three symbols, but not perfect, so that meant errors, problems, and even a higher chance of the hosts losing control. Or worse, death. Her husband had hastily constructed these four symbols in secret, and implanted them into his children before they were even born.

Thanks to the children growing up with the symbols, the symbols are more or less stable if unused. But being used meant that the risk of the symbols going berserk would rise. A call alert from her console shook her thoughts. She looked at the caller, and answered, smiling slightly. A screen appeared before her, and a silver haired woman smiled.

"Good to see you're well, Karin."

'"_Well, of course i'm well. Though i wish that your son would stop causing so much trouble for me. Do you know how much paper work i had to go through just because he decided that using his symbol would get the job done?_"'

She sighed, shaking her head. Her son, again. Karin had aged quite some bit over the years. Though she still had that spark she held many years ago, it was evident that she wasn't as active as before. She's now a fully grown woman reaching her forties. Her eyes were beginning to show her tiredness, and her face was now having now wrinkles. The matriarch of the Loid family had definitely seen better days. Once Karin was known to complain about being too bored, and just be unable to sit still.

Now the matriarch is complaining about getting tired too easily. It was a common sight. All of her friends, who once fought by her side, so vibrant, filled with youth. Now they were older, slower than before, and assigned to desk jobs. They weren't old the point where they were useless. No, they still had many years left in them, but when you stand them next to their old selves, or even their own children, it is evident how much is different.

"I've already lectured him for two days straight. I don't think he would listen to anything i say anymore."

'"_Sigh, kids grow up so fast. It seemed like just yesterday that they were always craving for your attention, and would do anything you ask."_'

Karin shook her head at that thought.

"Did you call only about Sora?"

Karin suddenly became serious after she said that. As though something was troubling her.

'_"... No. Recently, there have been an increase number of sightings of... 'demonic dragons'._"'

That caught her attention. And not in the good way.

"... Pictures?"

'"_None. Apparently, all evidence were destroyed before our fleets could go in to find them. Either someone is helping them, again, or they're getting smarter."_'

"Either way, there's going to be a problem."

She leaned back, rubbing her temples once more. Things were getting complicating, and she already had enough to deal with. She took off her glasses, placing them on the table as she reached for a single item. A solid photo. It was one of the rare photos the house still held, as 'he' seemed to like them. 'He' had once told her that the best thing about a solid photograph, was that it had a 'touch' to it. A sensation, and feeling that one could never have with a holo-pic, or a digital one. At that time, she didn't understand him, but now she does. This photograph was the one they took on their wedding day on Elicoor II. It was just him, and her. Did he foresee this problem? Was this why he had given his children the thing he didn't want to?

"... We need to mobilize the fleets. Of course, i'm not saying that we should abandon our duties to those in the ESF, but-"

'"_I understand. We shall mobilize all fleets, and while patrolling, i shall get them to send us all information."_'

"... Thanks."

'"_Hey, that's why we're here... Looks like Sora and Seira would be kept busy for awhile._"'

"That may be a good thing."

'"_I wonder about that.... oh yes, it seems that my daughters have gone down to Earth... I think another one of those 'races' are about to begin._"'

She raised her eyebrow at that. As well as raising her agitation.

"Oh?... Thanks for the tip. I'll need to have a word with my kids."

'"_Try not to scare them too much. Well, i need to start the organization of the fleets. Take care, Maria._ "'

"You too."

The line was cut, and Maria tapped her temple. Race. It was something that her two eldest seemed to take a liking to. She would need to stop them, but no matter how many times she tried, they always seem to get out. A knock on the door made her look up from her thoughts.

"Come in."

The door slid open, and an elderly woman walked in. She wasn't too old, but she was frail, and the eldest in the house. Ryoko Leingod didn't change much over the years, despite having grey hair now, and wrinkles covering her face. She was still relatively fit, and active for someone of her age. Maria smiled at her mother, but she could not hide her anxiety from the news she had gotten from Karin, and Ryoko could tell.

"Is something the matter, dear?"

"Well.... Mother, i have some bad news."

Ryoko looked at Maria for the moment, before nodding, grabbing a seat and facing her daughter.

"We have reports that 'they' have returned. It isn't confirmed, but the chances are high."

Maria explained, and Ryoko seemed to take it in pretty well.

"And... you will have to go back into space?"

Ryoko asked. But Maria did not really know. Should she? Could she return to space, to her fleet, and meet 'them' head-on? Nothing was clear or certain for now.

"I'll have to wait for the initial reports... but for now, i have another problem... It would seem that Sora and Seira are going to those 'races' again."

Maria was now starting to grind her own teeth as she thought about it, while Ryoko simply chuckled at her daughter's reaction.

"Oh dear, just let them do what they want. They aren't little kids anymore."

"Mother! You can't spoil them! Those races are dangerous!"

"I'm sure they can handle themselves."

"... Whose side are you on?"

"My family's."

And with that, Ryoko Leingod has once again managed to escape a difficult argument with only a chuckle as her daughter fumed off towards the kitchen in frustration. More than likely to grab something to sedate her fury.

"... Larni, Shizuka."

Two figures appeared from the shadows, one dressed in dark clothes and having a runic pattern run down the arm, the other in a typical maid dress.

"You called, madam?"

They asked in unison.

"Yes... Let us do our own investigation of this situation. That, and i think my grand kids may need some extra... protection."

"As you wish."

The figures disappeared, leaving Ryoko alone again in the room. But maybe not always alone.

* * *

A/N: Those who forgot.... Larni was one of the three rune guards from Elicoor II who were suppose to be guards for Fayt and Maria, but somehow or rather, Ryoko became their boss. Shizuka is one of the 'ninja' maids of the Leingod household.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This chapter shows the different kids and their personalities. Anyone needing me to explain their characters further in detail, i can do it. Just ask. So as i said, there are just too many of the kids, so i need you readers to vote who would accompany the main group. Actually, i don't mind the entire group going about together, but i feel sorry for a lot of the characters who probably won't get a chance to speak.

* * *

**The Blood Ties**

They raced down the dark and quiet roads, pushing their vehicles to the maximum. It was a sensation that they loved, and shared it with many. The adrenaline, the speed, the thrill of going so fast that it could break certain barriers. He stepped down on the accelerator, changing gears, and pushing his machine almost close to its breaking point. His was a sleek black sports car with red sword decals that point forward. It had a low body, riding close to the ground as it sped along. Hers was the same type of car, and black, but with blue shield decals. It didn't have a low body like his, though it was low enough. Hers had a thicker body kit than his, and together, they worked as a formidable duo. The sword and the shield. They had managed to escape their mother once again, and took off without waking anyone else in the house.

"I sort of feel sorry for Mitsuki."

Seira Leingod sighed, shifting gears and pushing her car faster. Her brother stared at her through the screen of the onboard computer.

'"_Feel sorry? Why? It wasn't as though she did anything."_'

"That's the point! She saw us, yet didn't do anything. I know mom won't fire her, since she technically works for grandma... but still-"

'"_We'll make it up to her. For now, did you call the others?_"'

Seira typed onto her onboard computer while driving with one hand. She brought up a new screen. She looked through the list that appeared, and nodded.

"Yeah... they're on their way. Is Faite fine?"

Sora turned his screen, and Faite's face appeared. She was smiling ecstatically. This would be her second time coming to the races, and she wanted to ride with Sora no matter what. Faite was rather attached to Sora, ever since an incident many years ago, when Faite was still young. A whole Greken Lion family managed to escape from their cage in the zoo on Sorien I, and the Leingod family were coincidently there for a vacation trip. A Greken Lion had seen Faite, and thought her to be a delicious meal and tried to pounce of Faite. Sora was the one who rescued Faite, and it was also the day that Sora's symbol activated it's offensive abilities. Seira only had hers activate two years later, when she was almost hit by an out-of-control vehicle.

Faite was the only one who hasn't activated her abilities, but she can communicate with her symbol, like all of them could before they activated. Seira could still remember when Rey had his symbol activated. It was a terrible incident, and the ESF had to cover it up with a whole stack of lies. Rey was on a field trip with his school, and something had happened. Nobody knew what exactly happened, but an entire city's population just disappeared. Rey was found unconscious, and alone in the middle of a ghost town. It was clear that Rey had his symbol activated, but no one expected his powers to be so frightening, and dreadful. It made all life forms disappear in the blink of an eye. Rey would not tell anyone what had happened, and in order to protect her own son, their mother had to abuse her authority. Speaking of Rey.

"Sora, where do you think Rey went?"

'"_Don't know. I couldn't find him in his room, so i figured he snuck out on his own._"'

Sora shrugged. Sora had always taken a slight dislike to his own younger brother. It wasn't that Rey was so distant, depressed and dark. Not to mention very rebellious, but rather it was because Rey somehow or rather knew exactly what buttons to push to make Sora extremely mad. But Seira also knew that Sora could never truly hate his brother. They were family, and as family, they would stick up for each other.

"... I wonder where he went... Oh, we're nearly there."

The two racing cars turned at an exit, entering an abandoned warehouse district. They slowed down as they slowly reached one end of the district. This part of the city hasn't changed in over three hundred years, as an effort to preserve historical buildings. The warehouses were still being used to this date, but mainly by the wrong kind of people. Just around the corner, in a large open space in the middle of the district, cars were all parked there. Not just a couple. Thousands. There were two types of grounded cars used by society.

One was the safer type, the 'line trains', by which the vehicle would have no driver, and simply take whatever route is available to the destination its owner wants it to go. The other, is the 'ground tractor', which is basically a vehicle that still uses wheels, used mainly for out of city limits, and for unchartered planets. This type of vehicle is still common on the roads, as the 'line trains' were still considered slow. The types of cars that were gathered here are mainly 'ground tractors', but they followed an old tradition that dates back to the AD calendar. These were monster machines, build and modified for one purpose. To satisfy the need for speed. Sora and Seira pulled up to one of the warehouses used. Inside, they were greeted by a whole group of familiar faces.

"Oh, the incest twins are back."

A well built blonde smiled as the twins stepped out from their cars.

"Can it Stirn."

Sora shot back at the Klausian, who simply shrugged the insult off. Familiar faces. Stirn stood next to Mira as they talked about getting their muscle tank-like car more juice. The two Klausians were almost like exact duplicates of their parents, if you can say that they have exchanged hair styles, that is. Stirn chose to have a short tail for a hairstyle, while Mira has shoulder length hair. And like their parents, Mira has to be the one to keep Stirn in his proper place, as the latter is known to be quite the pervert. They were both well built, and strong in fighting, as reflected in their car.

"Glad that you two could make it. Oh, Faite is here too? How do you like the races, Faite?"

Kirmi walked over to the twins, and smiled to Faite, who was too excited to reply properly, but Kirimi knew what she meant. A second silver haired woman walked over to Kirimi, obviously not too happy about something, which was revealed that Kirimi had forgotten to change the suspensions, and check the oil. Kirimi was now being lectured by her own younger sister, Kairi Loid. While Kirimi has more of her mother's looks, it is Kairi who took her mother's personality. Explosive and dangerous. It isn't known who is their father, as Kirimi certainly did not take her calm and cool character from her mother.

"Oi! Would the two bloody idiots standing there give me a hand with this piece of crap?!"

A rude, and sharp voice directed the twins over to a sharp car that looked like it could pierce anything. In fact, this car was sitting by itself at one corner because everyone had said that if it got too close to their cars, that it would pierce them. A head poked out from under the vehicle, and it was sort of unexpected to many others that the rude voice came from a woman. She had long dark hair with golden ends. She doesn't bother to tie up her hair, as usual, and so it was almost all over the place as she got up. Sora handed to her a hair band, which she took without a word of thanks.

"About bloody time you two maggots showed up. I need help with my transmission. Dad thrashed my gear-box yesterday too, when he borrowed my car to get to the senate. I tell you, if those bloody senates dare to make my dad that pissed again, i swear i'll-"

"Len, you're getting off topic."

Seira interrupted the younger woman, who raised an eyebrow, then sighed.

"Fine... Yeah, so my transmission needs fixing, and those fags over there won't help me."

Len pointed an accusing finger to the rest of the group.

"Nee-san, you're too vulgar, that's why no one wants to come over."

A red haired boy sighed, walking up while cleaning his hands with an oil rag.

"Me?! Too vulgar?! You're too soft, Kaine! Be a man! Like dad always told you to be!"

"And mom is always telling you to be more ladylike."

The twins looked in amusement as the two Nox siblings started to argue like they always do. But they work well together. Len Nox and Kaine Nox. Len was more like her father, vulgar, rude, and ridiculously strong with a sword. Kaine was like his mother, responsible, calm and collected. He has to keep his older sister from running amok, which just so happens to occur so frequently that it is more like his day job. While the Leingod twins help out the Noxs, Faite wandered about the warehouse. The Linegards had nice cars as well, and they greeted Faite with a smile when she approached them.

"Hi there, Faite. Want a sandwich?"

Frey, the older of the Lingard siblings, asked as he handed a small basket to Faite. Faite took the basket, and grabbed a sandwich. She took a bite into it, and let its contents fill her up. As usual, the Linegards were good at cooking.

"Everyone is being noisy and so energetic, that is almost seems wasteful."

Marian sighed, reaching into the basket to grab another sandwich. Frey was like his father, green haired, blue eyes, but had the facial structure of his mother's for some reason. Marian was more like her mother overall. Sometimes being childish despite her age.

"The same can be said to you."

A grey long haired girl walked up to Marian, reaching into the basket for a sandwich as well. Marian slapped the girl's wrist, making the latter pull back.

"You've gotten quite a mouth there, Sion. Have you forgotten how to treat your elders with respect?"

Sion smiled smugly, nursing her red wrist. Sion was like her mother, calm, cool, collected, and she does get irritated when her grandfather goes around harassing all of the boys who try to get too close to her. She also looks like her mother, which may be a contributing factor to why she's popular.

"Hmph, you're only one year older than me, Marian. And 'elders'? Surely you don't mean 'old wind bags'."

Marian's nerve snapped at that, and her hand crushed the sandwich in her hand, causing its contents to ooze out of her fist in a very disgusting manner. Sion is also quite sarcastic.

"Sion, knock it off."

A dark haired guy walked over to Sion, knocking her head with his fist in a playful manner. Sion rubbed her head, and looked up to the guy, who stood a head taller than her.

"Nii-san... Is the car ready?"

"As ready as it can be. Next time, tune up your own car."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that.... can't you do a small little favour for your little sister?"

Sion put on her 'puppy' face, though her brother was sort of immune to it already. He threw the oil rag draped on his shoulder at her face, making it a very good counter attack.

"Doing a 'small' favour? Don't kid yourself."

"Hey, Leon. See that Sion is giving you problems again."

Frey laughed as Sion grabbed the oil rag and tried to wipe Leon with it, but Leon was more or less immune to it, or he was just ignoring her.

"This is why younger sisters are so troublesome."

"I feel your pain."

Frey nodded while tears streaked down his cheeks.

"Nii-san.... i'm right here, you know."

Marian started to crack her knuckles, and Frey decided that it was a good time to change the subject.

"Of course, Faite is different, right?"

"Don't change the topic!"

At that moment, a spanner was thrown across the room, and collided straight with Frey, sending the green haired man off his feet. Eyes turned to the person responsible for the spanner throw, and found the face of one very angry guy. With chestnut coloured short spiked hair that has been over styled with wax that it looked like a shining porcupine, this guy didn't stand very tall, about half a head taller than Faite, who should be noted to be quite short.

"All of you shut up. I have to study for my exam next week, and there will be hell to pay if i can't get a good mark."

Quite a number of people in the warehouse kept their mouths shut at that point. The stunned silence was filled with a tension to sharp, it could cut. That is, till a heavy book impacted itself on his head.

"Shen, concentrate. I can't believe that you're older than me, yet need me to tutor you."

A blonde girl, who sat beside Shen, sighed.

"Keil!!! I am your older brother! Give me some respect!"

For some reason, both Frey, who managed to recover from his spanner meet-and-greet, and Leon, were both feeling rather pissed at that sentence.

"I won't call you 'oni-san', till you have earned my respect."

At that point almost everyone realized why Shen was so desperate to get a good grade. He wanted his younger sister to acknowledge him as her older brother. Keil is extremely smart, though quiet, cold, and possessing an extremely sharp tongue that can match her mind. Her older brother was like their father, impulsive, explosive, and unpredictable, but he still wants people to respect him. Which may lead him to do stupid things.

"... So.... the World was almost destroyed in World War III.... that would be AD 20... 20 what?"

"AD 2064. You should learn it by heart by now."

Keil sighed, shaking her head.

"Hey! There isn't use for such old history knowledge anyway! Why the hell do i have to know history?!"

"Because a great man.... or cyborg, once said that 'it is in the past that we can discover ways to the future'.... or something along those lines."

Stirn said, walking up to the group.

"Stirn... you're done with the 'tank'?"

"Keep laughing, Frey, i'll knock you over the side during the race."

Stirn and Frey were then locked in a battle of staring eyes. It was nearly possible to see lightning bounce between their eyes as the tension between the two escalated.

"Aren't we all on the same team?"

Mira asked. The others nodded their heads, and ignored the two battling man.

"Mira is going to ride with Stirn, right? Must be hard to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Sion patted Mira on the shoulder, and the Klausian simply sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

"By next year, i can get my own car. So i won't have to put up with his stupid requests."

"Alright! i need to focus as much as i can before the race!"

Shen suddenly declared, focusing back on his book.

"Erm.... the Star Date calendar started in AD 2087, with the success of Professor Trillas Bachtein's space warp experiments, and the usage of sub-space..... the entire ESF uses Rip-jumps now, right? Who still uses sub-space?"

"Only the ES military, and selected planets use Rip-jumps.... And we still use sub-space for communication purposes, since it uses up a lot less energy than Rip-space communication."

Kirimi explained as she and her sister joined the group. Apparently, she was done with whatever work she was suppose to do. Kairi made sure of that.

"As expected from one of the five lion fleet admirals. You know everything there is to know about the ES military."

Stirn said, earning a smile from Kirimi.

"Oh? I don't think i can be called a 'lion', Stirn."

Stirn suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He had forgotten how Kirimi hated to be called a lion. It came from one time when an experiment during school failed, and it made her hair explode outwards like a lion's mane. She could not get it fixed for two days, and hated to be called 'lion', ever since. But the term 'five lion fleet admirals', was something given to the five fleet admirals of the ES military who rose up at the same time, and became the new symbol for the ES military's power.

They were Sora and Seira Leingod, who were later demoted, and their fleets were in lock-down till they promoted again, Frey Linegard, Kirimi Loid, and Reina Koisk. It was only into their second year of being fleet admirals, that they faced their first trial, where three systems suddenly had an open revolt. The fleet admirals were mobilized, and quelled the rebellion within a week. They were first given the title 'five demon fleet admirals', but that was changed when Kirimi and Seira didn't like it. Of course, Kirimi didn't like 'lion' either, but it was better than 'demon'.

"Hey guys. I've got our placings."

A voice called out in the warehouse, turning all heads to that direction. Two silver haired people came walking into the warehouse. One having her long hair tied into tail, and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. The other one had long hair for a guy, and wore shades, as he was more like his mother where his eyes would emit light strong enough to blind people. Well, sometimes.

"Reina, Forrin.... finally. So? Which course are we on?"

Kirimi walked up to Reina, extending her hand out. Reina handed Kirimi a small chip, which Kirimi slotted into her communicator, showing her a whole list.

"... So, we're taking the global trans highway B... There's a lot of straight opens on that one."

"I was hoping for the global trans G, since that one is just straight all the way. But it seems that the Pan-Galactic Federation has been rather keen on catching us. They've already placed traps and ambushes on almost all of the other highways."

Reina admitted as she handed the other racers their chips. As expected from the intelligence division of the ES military. The Pan-Galactic Federation still had jurisdiction on Earth, and it was more than likely that the top brass of the ESF, namely their parents, had tipped the Pan-Galactic Federation of tonight's race. But this underground racing was something that no one could stop entirely. The others gathered together as Reina handed each racer their own chip, detailing their position in the races. There were five separate groups, since racing in one single race would cause chaos. Over a thousand racers on the same track is a disaster just waiting to happen.

"So Sora, Seira, Kirimi, Reina, Sion, and Len are group 3. Frey, Marian, Kaine, Leon are group 4. Stirn, Shen, Keil, Kairi, and Forrin are group 5."

Mira read out the list.

".... I'm not in the same group as Sora?!"

Marian cried out as she panicked over her placement. It should be noted that Sora and Seira were pretty popular among the members of the opposite sexes.

"Well, we still have some time before our turn gets to go. Just remember guys, we're playing as a team. We have to work together, and get the top prize."

Kirimi reminded all of them, though Marian was fuming at Kirimi. It was clear that some of the girls were looking at each other as rivals.

"Top prize... fifty million fol.... makes you wonder who the sponsor this time is, huh?"

Stirn rubbed his chin in thought.

"Who cares. As long as we can get that prize, we can split it between all of us."

* * *

A/N: Yeah... Sora and Seira are.... attractive.... to say the least. Oh yes.... here's an interesting fact for you guys.... fraternal twins have a 50% chance of having fraternal twin children. BUT!!! If two people who are both fraternal twins get married and have kids, their kids are NOT going to be 100% fraternal twins. If you study biology, and about gene inheritance, then you should know why. Identical twins have a 25% of having identical twin children. Interesting fact, and quite revelant to why Sora and Seira are twins and their siblings are not.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter is showing that the kids are kids.... and they do love the danger.... kids are dumb, aren't they? But hey, that's what being a kid is all about. I was a dumb kid once too... yeah, a whole freaking 20 yrs of being dumb.  


* * *

**Blood Race**

"Is this fine with you?"

He didn't like being asked this sort of question. He turned from the window, facing the figure standing in the darkness of the room.

"Do not question my decision. I have decided a long time ago. The time to move is now."

".... As you wish."

"It is now, or never. Those... so called 'God-killers' cannot stop me."

* * *

The race had begun, and the first two groups had already gone. Now the third group was stepping up to the plate, meaning Sora and Seira were getting ready. Faite got into Sora's car, as usual, and the cars roared out of the warehouse. Sora and Seira headed to the starting line, where two hundred cars were lining up. Kirimi, Reina, Sion and Len followed shortly after. The six cars reached the starting line, and found that they were right at the back of the line. Sora got out of his car, just as one of the race managers came forward.

"Alright, team 'Ever Sword', you guys set?"

The man asked, extending out his open hand. Sora pulled out a large metal case from his car, placing it on his hood. He opened it, revealling a whole case of Fol. Sora then reached into his pocket, and pulled out a whole bunch of data sticks, and pressed them into the hand of the race manager. The manager looked at the data chips, before grabbing the case.

"Good. This is for your entire team, i assume."

"Heh, you actually think otherwise?"

"Don't get smug with me, kid."

The man snorted, before walking away. In total, their team spent five thousand Fol just for entry. Three thousand for the initial sign-up, while the two thousand Sora just gave the man was for betting. Better than the pink-slip.

"Hey 'Ever Sword', don't lose out on your left turn this time."

A voice gloated. A group of punks walked up to Sora, who wasn't feeling too accomodating to idiots.

"Hmph, as if i need to be told that by you. You didn't even finish the last race."

The leader had his nerve shot by that statement, and he was prepared to punch Sora, but his teammates stopped him. By this time, Seira, Kirimi, Reina, Sion, Len and Faite all stepped out of their cars, standing by Sora.

"Ooo, does the mighty 'sword' need to be protected by girls?"

The punk asked in his most sarcastic 'sweet' voice, which sounded very gross.

"No, but these girls are here to make sure i don't kill here before the race."

"... Hmph, as if you have the balls to do something like that. So how was the Faus system? Had a nice candy trip?"

"Keep laughing it up, Dreg. You know how that guy races."

Sion shot at the punk, who was taken aback by Sion's sudden outburst.

"W-well.... yeah, that guy is a monster.... He's here tonight again. Over by the front, fifth lane."

Dreg pointed the front of the line, where Sora's eyes fell upon a dark car with a grim reaper decal on it.

".... 'Scythe'.... I'll get him this time."

Sora swore, clenching his fist.

"I don't think you can win. Anyway, besides that, listen... erm... Sion-san.... if i beat you... erm.... would you.... er... would you go out on a date with me?!"

Dreg suddenly blurted that out of the blue, catching most by surprise, though Sion was rather indifferent.

"Who do you think you are, you friggin' maggot?! Shouting something like that crap all of a sudden-"

"Len nee, it's alright."

Sion stopped the Nox girl, before she decided to draw her sword right there and create a blood bath.

"I'll accept your bet.... but only if you manage to beat me, and Sora nii."

Sion made her conditions clear, and that made the punk leader slightly nervous. Beating Sion was one thing, and she was fast, but beating Sora, who was well known to be like a sharp knife when it came to racing, was something else. Sora and Seira were two of the best underground racers around, and Sora has only lost in a personal race once. That was to the mysterious racer, 'Scythe'.

"... A-alright! I'll do it! Sora! I'll beat you this race and win Sion's heart! Just you watch!"

Dreg walked off, while Sora sighed, shaking his head.

"Another idiot."

"What a simpleton. Just for the prospect of one date, he would risk death.... and just because i would go out with him, doesn't mean he would win my heart."

Sion stated, and the others looked at her, all thinking the same thing. Harsh. Sion then turned to Sora, who was rather taken aback by the sudden rush of events.

"Sora-nii.... you better not lose."

Sion glared at Sora, while jabbing his chest with her finger.

"Er... yeah, i'll try."

"Trying is not good enough.... you don't want me taken by some jerk, do you?"

Sion was mumbling the last part of her sentence, and her face burned quite red.

"Huh? What did you say?"

".... I said, if you lose, i'll make sure to dismantle your car real nice and slow."

Sion suddenly changed her expression, and aura, to that of a raging demon. Everyone stepped back, except for Sora, who was petrified on the spot. Sometimes, it can be the ones who do not have Symbology who are the scariest.

'"_Drivers! To your cars!_"'

The racers all went back to their cars, as the roars of engines echoed throughout the entire city. Sora checked all of the systems of his car, his engine, his transmission, his fuel, his nitro boost, his suspension. Everything was shown on his computer in the car. Faite sat in the passenger seat next to him, and helping him with checking the vitals for the car. At times like these, it was useful to have someone sitting next to the driver. Sora slotted his communicator in its holder on his dashboard, connecting its systems to his car. Multiple screens appeared on his windscreen, maps, routes, rankings, and the communication link to his teammates. Using his finger, he moved the screens away from his front view by taking advantage of the communicator's sensor. Everyone was getting ready, and being extremely determined.

"Sora nii-sama. There's a mail for you."

Faite pointed at a blinking small icon at the corner. Sora knew who it was, so he pressed it, and a message came up.

'_Liked the candy? How about a new bet? If you lose, travel to Aeos. If you win.... well, same as usual. Scythe._'

Sora's knuckles turned white as his grip on his steering wheel tightened. He won't lose this time.

"It's on."

* * *

The tension was sharp. Almost too sharp. He sat by himself on the rooftop of one of the warehouses, enjoying the view of the entire race. Sometimes, taking his time like this wasn't too bad. A figure walked up from behind him, but he paid that person no heed. Wasn't like he wanted to see that person that badly. After all, he had seen nothing but his face, and some butt ugly enemies, for more than a decade. Now he was finally out of that hell-hole. He should enjoy peaceful times like these more often.

"... Are you sure you want to relax in a time like this?"

The person asked.

"Tsk tsk... you don't understand, do you? It is usually what we miss during such times of urgency, that are the most intriguing."

"... I do not want to understand your logic, and if you want to play the role of an old man, go ahead, but please do not forget our objective."

"I never forget.... So? Any progress?"

"Sarah and her team have already infiltrated the orbital station. We're waiting for Teran and his group to get the codes from the ESF headquarters.... Do you really find this sort of demeaning sport entertaining?"

"'Demeaning'? How rude. I used to race like that too. And plus, it isn't the race i'm interested in... it's a bunch of special kids, that catch my eye."

".... Like i said... old man. Hm? Hold on."

The person tapped the ear piece, nodding a few times, before turning back to him.

"Alright, we have the codes. Teran is making his way back to way point A. We should go as well."

He sighed, getting up to his feet and dusting his coat. He glanced one last look at the racers below, smiling.

"I guess i'll be seeing you kids later.... Try not to get yourselves killed... Alright, Verdok, let's get this show on the road. Call all God-killers in the vicinity. We're going to hunt for a rat."

* * *

A/N: So there you have it...... don't say i didn't throw in a hint. It's here.

So i'm getting the theme of 'God-killers' in.... anyone know any game or anime with god-killers? I so far have about three or four in my head.

Sora's popularity with the girls of the 'extended family' is just like how Fayt can end up with each girl in the original game. But this time, i went a bit further.... so Len is like a personification of Albel..... imagine what would happen if Len and Stirn (Len is Albel's daughter, and Stirn is Cliff's son) get hitched?..... omg, chaos.... Albel and Cliff are NOT going to be happy with their kids getting married. They'll probably fight each other at the wedding.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I was thinking of all of my racing games..... and those racing movies like the fast and the furious when i was writing this.... i always wanted the kids of Fayt and Maria to be bad asses..... so how do you make kids in the future bad asses? I don't know. I just throw in some ideas and turn on the future blender, hoping i get bad ass milkshake with a hint of sci-fi.  


* * *

**Blood Race**

The race started with a bang, and every car sped out of the starting area, going up the ramp to the global trans highway. The Global Trans Highway (GTH), is a highway that stretches around the entire Earth. It was built in the early years of the Star Date calendar as a symbol of Earth's unity. Connecting all of the continents, islands, and countries together. A few of these highways ran straight and continuous, while some had curves and winding turns to connect to more countries. It is on these highways that the night races take place on. Normally, it would take a few weeks to travel one entire round on one of these highways, but these cars weren't normal. It wouldn't be unnatural for these cars to break the sound barrier. And that was just the beginning. Sora stepped on the accelerator, speeding past the fifty slower racers before him, and his team followed him shortly after.

"Redistribute the fuel injects."

Sora commanded the computer, and it gave a positive reply.

"Faite, hold onto something. I'm going to punch it."

Faite nodded, gripping tightly onto her seat. Even seat belts weren't going to help.

"Seira! Get into position! Kirimi, Reina, stay close behind. Len and Sion shall back Seira up."

'"_Does Seira nee even need our help?_"'

Sion wondered out loud, but still complied.

'"_Cars in position, Sora. Hit it!_"'

Kirimi shouted, and Sora activated a button, allowing the car to accelerate so quickly that it would normally break bones. The dampeners in each car was the only thing that prevented any driver from having their skin and meat fly off them. Sora's car then broke the sound barrier, creating an exploding sound so loud it made one of the competitor's windscreen shatter. The other cars in Sora's team were positioned so that they would follow in a T-formation, allowing for a greater drafting. Sora's car allowed the others to accelerate faster than normal, letting them reach speeds that would leave any other car destroyed. The race is meant to be three hours long, and with a lot of land to cover, that wasn't a long amount of time. The team sped their way past the next thirty racers, crossing oceans and mountains.

'"_We're reaching the Indian Ocean._"'

Reina reported, which was bad news. This particular highway went over a few oceans, and the oceans were known to have a few interesting additions over the past few centuries. Some were known to be rather violent, and able to jump over the highway to snatch a car or two before flying back into the waters. That is why some people were saying introducing creatures from other planets into another environment would be a bad idea.

'"_Watch out for those Kolirands. They have good speed and reflexes to catch us._"'

Kirimi warned as they sped across the large body of water. They were in the top twenty already, but still things may change. A large explosion occurred to the right of the highway, as a giant creature shot out of the water, with its mouth agape, flying across the highway. The highway was built with multiple defensive systems that prevent creatures from destroying it, but that did not stop this creature from trying to get a meal.

'"_Giganbors!_"'

Giganbors were giant, massive whale-like creatures that feed off practically anything metallic, and gives out an electronic signal. And they usually eat things that were above water. This came from an evolutionary change, when a group of Terronians went to harvest the metal ores under water, where the Giganbors feed. Without their food, they turned to the nearest metallic source, the Terronian ships that were above their waters. Now an entire herd of Giganbors were flying out of the waters, snatching cars with their mouths while flying across. The group dodged as much as they could, weaving in and out.

'"_Kolirands! Up ahead!_"'

A long slimy snake like creature the size of small house jumped out of the waters and landed on the highway. It had six webbed legs and four clawed arms, as well as a sleek flipper tail. It long dorsol fin stretched across the length of its body, and had poisonous spines. The Kolirand bared its fangs, grabbing a car with one claw, and yanking its driver from it with another hand, and swallowing the racer alive. The Kolirand, satisfied with its meal, jumped back into the water before the highway laser turrets could get a shot. But dozens of Kolirands were now jumping to the highway, looking for easy meals. Well, this group isn't easy. Sora held his hand up, focusing his energy at one point. A familiar runic symbol appeared before his car, and a faint shape of a giant sword formed before the car. Sora floored his car, and sped through the Kolirands, piercing any creature with his symbol's power. Seira raised her symbol's shields all over the entire group, deflecting a Kolirand's poison needle attack, and a Giganbors mouth.

'"_Is it me? Or is every single bad ass creature is out there to get us?_"'

Reina wondered as she dodged a flying car that a Kolirand tossed away. The car bounced on the highway once, before a Giganbor snatched the car while it was flying across.

'"_No wonder the Pan-Galactic Federation didn't close this highway. It's the annual migration for these creatures, and highway B is the only one that is in their way._"'

Kirimi explained. But now wasn't really the time for explanations.

'"_Those damn fish food- Ah! HEY!!! WATCH IT YOU OVER GROWN LIZARD PIECE OF SHIT HEAD CRAP!_"'

Len went off swearing again, and no one bothered to tell her that what she used to scold a Kolirand wasn't exactly a sentence.

'"_We need catch up with Dreg... Sora nii._"'

Sion stared hard at Sora, who felt her stares were giving him new eye sockets.

"I know!"

Dreg was ahead of the group by three places, while Scythe was ahead of all. Sora wasn't liking this at the moment.

"Readjust the fuel flow. Inject pistron fuels. Set all systems to critical. We're reaching the Gibraltar Strait. It's going to be one heck of a turn there. Seira!"

'"_Setting maximum output to counter-balancers. Set all boosters to auto calibration and adjusting._"'

'"_Reaching the 'bendz' in five._"'

Kirimi reported. It was now time for the make, or break.

'"_Four... three... two.... one-_"'

"NOW!"

Sora changed his gears quickly, breaking and turning as they swerved through one of the largest turns on the highway. Through the bendz, they managed to push their rankings up, swerving on the inner lanes and getting pass Dreg. For now, Sora's car was safe from Sion's menacing hands.

"Now for Scythe."

The turn was taking up a lot of the team's focus, and Faite was pressed to the side of the car from the turn itself. But Seira had used her symbol to soften the turn, letting them feel only half the pressure. Soon, the turn straightened out, and Sora changed gears once more, flooring the gas pedal.

"Punch it!"

The team raced on, and Scythe's car was just up ahead. Sora wasn't going to let that guy win again. Once he wins, Sora would demand Scythe to reveal his face, and hand over his car. It was a nice car, Sora had to admit. They were now in the top ten. Sora wasn't going to let Scythe win this one. He has a plan now.

'"_We're reaching the end of the Atlantic Ocean._"'

"Nearly there... Faite, check the map for the 'S' turns."

Faite nodded, and enlarged the map in front of her. She concentrated her focus, and quickly found the turns Sora was looking for. She marked their locations and transferred the data onto Sora's dashboard map.

"Thanks. Now... we can pass through here, here, and here."

Sora pointed three of the five S turns, and sent the data to Seira and the others.

'"_Let me guess, you want us to block his path?_"'

Reina wondered.

"Well, you're free to do so, but this is more to edge him closer to the edge. Seira and I will burst through. Len and Sion shall guard the rear. Kirimi and Reina will provide back-up to which ever needs it."

'"_Sounds troublesome... But hey, for the prize._"'

* * *

The race was not the only event going down. Soldiers sneaked into position, hidden from the people who were busy with their own businesses.

"Say, who do you think is going to win tonight?"

"Hard to say... but i think the twins may win Scythe this time."

"Ha! If that's the case, then i'll take that bet."

"You always oppose my opinions!"

The soldiers nodded, jumping out of their cover, and opened fire.

* * *

The turns were proving to be more difficult than he imagined, trying to stick to the inner turns as much as possible, but Scythe was doing the same thing, sticking to the inner lanes. Sora was as hard as he could to do the turns without going to far off. Each of the turns was actually gradual, and would take a normal vehicle an hour to take each turn at normal speeds, so when Sora and the racers go faster than sound, each turn was like a second. Each time Sora had to make sure that they wouldn't turn too far, and fall off.

"Dammit! Come on, come on, come on!"

'"_Sora! Come in!_"'

Stirn's face appeared, looking worried and distraught.

"Stirn? This is an emergency line! What are you-"

'"_We've been found! Soldiers are storming the warehouses, and we've been scattered. Enemies may be heading your way, or may already be in waiting._"'

"Found?! What? That's not possible!"

'"_Now isn't the time for questions! We're planning to escape and meet up by the Nox's._"

"Good idea. We'll be reaching the Pacific Ocean within ten minutes-"

'"_Sora! Unidentified fighters are in-bound!_"'

Kirimi reported, which added to Sora's worries. First off, who found them? For there to be soldiers and even military equipment to be used. It had to be a government handiwork. The Pan-Galactic Federation? But Reina's intelligence network is never wrong. Unless they purposely sent out false information? But using all of this for just racers? Something was wrong.

'"_Fighters! Above us!_"'

Seira raised her shields above the team, protecting them from the hail of laser shots and railgun bursts.

'"_This isn't good._"'

"You think?"

Sora needed to get them back as fast as possible. Soon, they were over the Pacific Ocean, and it seemed that the Giganbors and Kolirands were here as well. At least the fighters were forced to retreat when one of theirs was taken down by a flying Giganbor. But it wasn't over yet. The team pushed onwards, when they saw their destination, exit 74, being road blocked with tanks.

"Now that's over kill."

Sora grumbled.

'"_Enemies on our backs!_"'

"No time to look back! Break through the barricade!"

Sora summoned his symbol, and forced the materialization of thousands of giant blades, sending them flying into the blockade, exploding vehicles and tanks. Seira summoned her shield to the front of Sora's car right before Sora slammed into the barricade, protecting the car, and letting it push aside the debris. The six cars roared down the exit, slowing their speeds drastically to allow themselves to return back to normal speeds. It was dangerous to use the supersonic speeds in city areas, and just plain stupid.

'"_Enemies catching up from behind!_"'

"Tch! Ignore them!"

Sora wanted to ignore them, but it was hard to do so when they were shooting at him. Sora didn't want to look back, but suddenly the car ahead of him, Scythe, pulled a 180 on the spot, and sped past Sora and his team towards the pursuers. Sora didn't bother ask questions, but as he pulled his emergency brake, forcing the wheel to the left and making his car pull a sharp turn, he saw something that made him wonder. Scythe's car glowed blue, and a familiar symbol appeared. That was all Sora saw, before he went into the underground water ways.

* * *

Scythe's car screeched to a halt right before the empty military vehicles that were still running. Stepping out of the car, the brown haired youth sighed, shaking his head.

"Tsk tsk.... he sure is a handful, that dumb brother of mine. Ruchifa, find anything?"

Rey Leingod questioned his symbol, who was performing a scan.

_'No. Doesn't seem like they left any trace of being connected.... oh wait, there's this.'_

Ruchifa pointed Rey to a truck. Rey walked up to the driver's seat, and opened the side arm. Inside, was a single note, with an insignia that Rey could not forget. He crumpled the paper in his fist, feeling his rage being tested.

"So, they have come once more."

_'Foolish, dumb, stupid.... those idiots never learn do they? This time, let's kill them all.'_

"In due time. They haven't given up their goal, and never will till they have the 'core' in their hands. This we cannot allow. Ruchifa, we need to disappear from here awhile."

* * *

A/N: This sets the story.... Rey's past, and his connection to the unknown soldiers. Don't worry, though the kids are important, Fayt is still the main guy. He will show up. And in a way that will make most of you surprised.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: In this chapter, you get to see the old characters becoming used to their lifestyles.... well, a few of them.... and in short sentences.... Okay, so people like Nel is talking in complete technical terms, using words that she normally wouldn't understand before Fayt arrived on Elicoor II. Stuff like that. And an interesting fact on Albel through the years. Why do i a strange feeling that a large number of Albel fans are going to come screaming at me?  


* * *

**The Ghost of the Past**

**Nox Estate**

The kids had gathered in the living room, all unsure of what had happened. The sudden chain of events had left everyone confused, dazed, and somewhat frightened. Len Nox appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray of drinks, and setting it down on the coffee table. Nel Nox appeared behind her daughter with a second tray of drinks. Albel Nox, the man of the house, shouted at the kids for barging in so late in the night, and told them not to disturb his sleep or he would , as he put it, _**'make your miserable maggot lives a burning hell'**_. Nel told the kids not to worry about Albel, as he has too much work to do.

He does, after all, work part time at the musuem of culture, and at the local community centre, teaching black smithing, pottery making, flower arrangement and appreciation, among other things. Pottery making, and flower arrangement. Albel Nox. Who knew. Well, everyone knew. Albel Nox may be a hardcore swordsman, and one bad ass strict to hell combat trainer for the ES military, but he is also one who keeps telling the kids that they need to appreciate the different forms of art, as it is through art that a person can learn to appreciate what he has, what the galaxy has to offer, and ultimately, according to him, what life means.

While no one actually has attained enlightenment, everyone does understand what Albel means. Though Albel has the bad tendency to link his lectures of art and culture, with swordsmanship. Nel Nox, who works as a trainer in combat, symbology, and covert operations at the ES military facilities, and also works as one of the heads of the ES military management department.

".... I don't approve of you kids staying out so late, and going for those races again? Len, Kaine, what did i say about doing that? I may not be so harsh, but your father was furious when the two of you disappeared again... Well, enough about that. So, an unknown military organization attacked the races. No, it shouldn't be the Pan-Galactic Federation, as their operations are closely monitored by us."

Nel explained after lecturing her two children. Nel Nox was still rather active in military operations, but she was getting more accustomed to being behind a desk. Age had made her more of a housewife, suitable for the kitchen life style. Technically, Nel is good in the kitchen, and she is probably very well adapted for the married, and have a family life style. But that didn't stop her from keeping her skills sharp, as demonstrated at every single public and social function, or reunion, where she had to keep her husband on a short leash.

"Cliff has made sure the Pan-Galactic Federation are completely under the ESF, even though they technically are still their own power."

Nel shook her head to dismiss a thought that came to her mind.

"Mom?"

Kaine looked at his mother, who smiled sweetly to her son.

"It's nothing, Kaine."

But the five fleet admirals were not buying this. They had a feeling that Nel knew something. They had always trusted their gut feelings about things like this. And never once has it proved them wrong.

"Please, aunt Nel. We need to know."

Sora said, making Nel bite her lip. A Leingod asking her for help. Somehow that made her really want to spill what she knew. Strange though it may seem, most of the others who fought by Fayt and Maria felt like that. Whenever a Leingod would ask for help from them, or a favour, they would be inclined to help no matter what.

"We are military personals, and fleet admirals to be precise. We deserve to know who we're dealing with."

Kirimi added. Nel closed her eyes for the moment, debating within herself if this was really the right decision. Then she sighed. The kids were right. If what she knew was any help, she should give it to them.

"We didn't want to keep you kids in the dark about this, since most of us thought that this was our fight, and not yours. As you kids know, we, all of your parents, fought in the 'Executioner Wars'. We were successful at sealing away the Executioners, but what we found after, was that there were other ways the Executioners could get in. After all, the core program of the Executioners wasn't destroyed."

"Wait... Core program? You mean there was a core program for them?"

Stirn wanted to know if what he heard was right. And some of the kids were wondering that as well.

"Yes. The Executioners were made from a program that had its roots deep in the Eternal Sphere's base structure. We were successful at locating the different points of entry, and sealing them with Sophia's powers. These seals were more successful than the main gate on Styx as the others were simply 'back-doors'. However, when we discovered the last gate, we found a group of soldiers at the gate. It was a relatively small group, but nonetheless we had to know why they were there.

They were hostile, and opened fire before we could get close enough to talk. We couldn't get any information from them, and we were forced to... kill them. It was revealed through lots of investigations that they belonged to a paramilitary organization that had branches all across the sector. They were the largest non-government military group in the Eternal Sphere. This group is called.... 'Providence'."

"'Providence'?"

Nel nodded in reply. She obviously didn't want to say anymore than that, but she kept on going.

"They were made up of different groups, some of them had a bad history with us. In fact, i think Karin, Kanai, Fuin and Yuin should be the most involved in that case. After all, a large number of troops from Providence were from a group called 'Basalama'. I don't know what those four did to get entangled with a group like that, but all i know is that they wanted to cut their past away. Most of us wanted to. We found out, after a long while of investigating, that Providence had aimed to set the Executioners free, declaring it a 'divine will'. They are obviously either loose in the head, or have someone... or something, backing them. The ES fleet, still young and small, set out to find and root out all Providence bases of operation. We should have wiped them out, so that was why i was thinking maybe it couldn't be them.... however, if the way you described their methods, and weapons, then i believe that we may be facing them again."

The room fell into silence. It was a lot of digest, and Nel knew it.

"What about the 4-D world? Couldn't they help in locating the source?"

Reina asked. Nel knew that Kanai's child would ask that. Intelligence division alright.

"The 4-D realm has no authority, nor are they willing to put their hand in this case. We may have come up with a lot of agreements, but this was beyond them."

"You mean they refuse to help us?"

"More like they can't. The Eternal Sphere has become separate from their main frame a long time ago, and so there are only so many things they could do to help us. And even if they could help us, they cannot locate the source. They did try once, and it seemed that the Eternal Sphere was denying them administrative privileges. All access and changes to the Eternal Sphere must be done in either one of two places. One is in the Creator's room, and the other is in the Mainframe, which has been sealed off with the Executioners."

"What else can you tell us about this group? Why would they try to target the race?"

Sora wanted to know-, no. He needed to know this. Nel looked into the Leingod kid's eyes, and she was starting to see his father in him. A lot like his father. Nel crossed her arms, closing her eyes once more to collect her thoughts. They needed to know. Most likely Maria wouldn't tell them. Nel knew that Maria was too protective of her kids. Too protective to the point where she would rather keep them in a closest and lock the key.

Maybe not that far, but Nel knew Maria wouldn't let them know anything. Maria had always thought that she would lose another person close to her if they knew too much. Like how her husband had found out something they didn't and made the choice to leave her side. Maria was scarred from that incident, and it would affect her judgement. These kids needed to be told the truth, as hiding behind the truth would only lead them to be injured without reason, or worse.

"... Sorry, Maria...."

Nel opened her eyes, and sighed. They needed to be told.

"The Providence need something to open the gate. Something that the Leingods have... Yes, they weren't targeting the race itself, but rather, you three. The Leingod kids."

"What? Why?"

Seira couldn't understand at first, but then a sudden realization dawned upon her. She knew why now. Nel nodded her head as she saw Seira grasp the actuality of the situation.

"Yes... They are targeting the special genetic symbols of the Leingods."

* * *

Leaving the Nox estate, Sora felt drained. The story that Nel told them was rather far-fetched, but it was true. It would seem that the symbols that were created by their father, and their grandfather, were capable of connecting directly to the mainframe of the Eternal Sphere, thereby opening a new gateway to the mainframe core, and be able to take control of the Executioners. They couldn't take control of the Eternal Sphere that way, since the majority of the Eternal Sphere is now its own entity, but the Executioners were still programmable, and were still a very dangerous threat. Everyone in the ES military has seen the footage of those demons. Faster, and more dangerous than a battleship, a single creature could tear a whole squad into ribbons within minutes. But there was one thing that Nel did tell them. That symbols weren't the only things able to connect.

OPAs were capable of connecting to the mainframe, and to the Creator's room. They were essentially 'keys'. But most of them were only powerful enough to access the Creator's room. Only extremely powerful, and rare OPAs were capable to connect to the Mainframe, and open a direct passage way. Those kinds of OPAs were most commonly found within sentient beings. Or more specifically 'Gods'. Almost every single civilization in the Eternal Sphere has worshipped divine beings and Gods. But only some of them had real powerful beings that defied reality. Those were beings infused with OPAs, or given the powers of an OPA.

They were generally called OPB, or Out-of-Place-Being. Sora joked about it once, calling them Over-Powered-Bastards. Such beings were capable to stand against an entire fleet of Battleships by themselves, and even step toe-to-toe with those who have the genetic symbols, namely Sora. Sora has come to face off with a couple before. Some were ridiculously powerful, while others were only putting up hot air. Of course, every single one of those beings, no matter on what type of planet they were on, and no matter what technological era their nation was in, they would all understand the truth of the Eternal Sphere.

They were a part of the Eternal Sphere, having a greater access to the Eternal Sphere's powers and Mainframe than any other being. In other words, they were like administrators of the system who were a part of the system itself. The genetic symbols that the Leingods have was something that was like giving powers equal to the OPBs to people who shouldn't have such powers. Like an illegal hacker giving himself administrative privileges for a system he gained access to. It was an abnormality within the system, and that was what started the long 'Executioner War'. Sora turned to Faite, who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. The entire Leingod family was dragged into this mess. Sora could not bear to see his younger sister get messed up in this. Well, his brother too, but Rey often disappeared, and just as often played tricks on Sora, so Sora wasn't that worried about the kid.

It was already dawn by the time Sora and Seira pulled up into the garage of the Leingod mansion. Sora had actually wondered if their father actually drove every single vehicle in the massive garage, that was more like a multi-storey parking lot than a normal garage. Sora and Seira parked their cars, and got out of the vehicles, with Sora carrying Faite on his back. Standing by the door to the mansion, was a rather angry Maria Leingod. Her fury was strong enough that the lens on her glasses cracked. While normally Sora and Seira would be thinking of excuses, or just run away long enough for their mother to cool down, now wasn't the time. And so Sora and Seira let their mother pull them by the ear, and drag them into the main living room of the mansion. Maria Leingod was one of the few who still had the strength, and looks from her younger days. In fact, it was common for classmates and friends of her children to mistake Maria for a sister. Her children did not question why their mother could still look so young, not aging a single bit from pictures from twenty years back. Sophia Linegard was another who did not seem to age. Although they did not question, they did not know the cause.

"I will not let the two of you off this time! How many times must i yell at you before you get it?"

Maria had started her long lecture, and Sora had listened to enough of it that he could memorize the entire speech, and even say it backwards. Faite was still sleeping, even through the entire racket. Faite is, among the Leingod kids, known to be the largest sleepy-head. She once slept through a terrorist bombing. Good thing the ES military took care of the problem before she awoke. Another possible reason why she could sleep quite peacefully, was because the Leingod living area was large. Too large. Someone could easily fit a house in this living room, and it was made worse that this wasn't the only living room. There were three in total, and this one was mainly used by the family during their free time. Evidence was the large stack of games, and game consoles that were attached to the extreme home theatre system that looked more like a science laboratory than a home entertainment system.

"... Hmph, well, it's not like you two would still listen to me. And i can't ground you anymore.... Nel called, and said she told you everything."

Maria sat down in one of the grand chairs, placing her coffee mug down on the table and taking her glasses off. She glanced at the cracked lens, and in an instant, the lens were fixed. Maria was the most well versed with her symbol, both in destructive, and constructive terms. Sora once managed to see his own mother so angry that she summoned her legendary twin guns, wrecked havoc, and combine the two into one large cannon, destroying a pirate battleship during one of their vacations.

"Providence.... i never imagined i would hear that name again."

Maria sighed, shaking her head in dismay. She did not want to believe that this was happening. Things had spiralled out of control after Fayt disappeared, and she finally thought things were peaceful. Providence, made up of almost every single enemy they faced in the past. Basalama, the Eternal Sphere Rights Movement (the ones who caused a large number of terrorist acts in the past), Vendeeni, Yzaks, 4-D fanatics almost every single enemy was back. And they were aiming to release the greatest demon of all, the Executioners. And they were now targeting her children.

"And they aren't our only problem, however. While you were racing, we had a level 10 break-in at headquarters. Then, a battleship was stolen from the docking station."

Sora and Seira stared in surprise. A level 10 break in meant that top-secret documents were taken. The type of documents that could eventually lead to the destruction of star systems, planets, governments, and even the Eternal Sphere. This was serious, and too sudden. And a battleship? The orbital station had one of the toughest security in the sector. Even the Leingod research centre on Moon-base was relatively easy to break-in compared to the Orbital station. That station is the main station for the ES military, carrying some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the entire Eternal Sphere.

"What isn't important is the fact something was stolen... the important thing was 'what' was stolen."

Maria activated the console on her chair, and a screen appeared, displaying a whole list.

"Among the things that were stolen, security codes for all ESF facilities, location of top secret ESF bases and a list of all OPBs, and OPB killers."

"OPB killers?"

Sora wondered if there were people who could kill OPBs besides those who have genetic symbology. Maria nodded her head, pressing a few keys on her console. A new list appeared on the screen, showing planets, and names with pictures next to each.

"We still have a copy though. As you two know, OPBs are like system administrators to the Eternal Sphere, and from time to time, there are beings who are able to kill the OPBs, and take over their administrative abilities. Sometimes they don't, but it is quite common for the killers to be more powerful than before. The God-killers."

"God-killers...."

"There are a lot of planets out there with such legends, where Gods reside close to them, and then there are certain times when a normal being from that planet is capable of killing their God, gaining their powers. Well, what they have in relation to the Eternal Sphere is no different from us. We are unauthorized beings with the capability to access the Eternal Sphere's deep systems. Most likely, if this is Providence, then they would not only try to get us, but the OPBs, and the OPB killers."

Maria let the story sink into her children's minds. She had to let them understand the situation as soon as possible. The Providence posed a threat that no one could ignore. She needed all ES military on the look-out as soon as possible. The entire fleet needed to be launched out. Not only Providence, but the reports of demonic dragons as well. But she has decided not to tell anyone besides the top brass of the ESF, namely those involved in the Executioner Wars twenty years back.

"So you want us to find Providence?"

Seira asked. Maria narrowed her eyes at her children. Were they this dense? Or maybe she didn't make her point clear enough.

"No. Finding Providence is like trying to look for a needle in a haystack. It's impossible. Or at least nearly. And attacking Providence head-on is simple folly. We do not know what they are capable of, after being in hiding for so long. They may have come up with a way to counter our symbology's powers. No, i want the two of you to go out and look for all OPBs and OPB killers, who may have the ability to give Providence the ability to access the gates. Remember that not all OPBs and OPB killers have access to such powers. Only those with power ratings of level seven and above. This is the mission that i'm issuing to all fleets. The two of you will leave with your fleets tomorrow."

Maria reached into her pocket, and tossed two badges onto the table. They were Sora's and Seira's fleet admiral ranks.

"The two of you are placed back on active duty as fleet admirals. Make sure to do your job properly."

Sora and Seira took their badges, before looking at their mother. They stood up, snapping to salute her. It was odd for both sides. Children saluting their mother. Maria smiled, getting up from her chair, deciding that she still needed to sleep. She hadn't slept a wink when she found that her children ran off to the race. She never did sleep whenever they pulled something like that.

"Erm... mom. What ship was stolen?"

Sora asked. Maria stopped in her tracks, biting her lip. Out of all ships, it had to be this one. Maybe this was a warning, a threat to them. Taunting them. Or maybe it was pure coincidence.

"... The flagship... Eternal Vengence."

* * *

A/N: Well, i think that should be enough hints for now.... Those who really don't know what happened to Fayt by now, should go and read my previous fics....


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm adding some history facts from SO 4, but i think you already knew that. I haven't finished SO 4, in fact haven't even gone to the second planet..... yeah, i know, i'm slow.... but if only i could train faster, then i wouldn't be in this pickle! Training to lvl 15 before leaving the first planet is hard, okay?! Ahem.... so anyway, i may be wrong about a few things, but i'm taking a lot of liberty as well. Using the excuse that due to the years passed, and also with the 'reset' of the Eternal Sphere, things have changed somewhat.

Also, i forgot how to spell some things even in the SO 3 universe..... like Roger's race, and Peppitta's name... is it Pepitta? bah, forgot. Oh yes.... Roger's race, i'm guessing that they age faster than others.  
**

* * *

**

**Where it All Began**

**Next Day, onboard ES military vessel, Bravery Class Battleship, Retribution fleet Flagship Wrath**

He traced his finger on the console before him. This was his ship. He took command of it many years ago, but lost it when he was demoted. Now it was his to command again. He remembered the day he was forced to leave this ship. He vowed that the first thing he would do when he came back, was to fly this ship wild, straight into hostile territory, guns blazing. But now he had a mission. There was a meaning to his return. The Bravery class ship was one of the most sophisticated ship in the Eternal Sphere, modelled after his father's own ship, the Eternal Vengence, which was stolen.

Though the Bravery class ships were powerful, they could not hold a candle to the original three ships which sparked the whole new production lines of military ships. The Bravery Class boasted the most powerful firepower and speed, ideal for flagships and front line attackers. The Justice Class, modelled after the Justice Reign (Maria Leingod's ship), had the best long range capabilities, and the strongest hull and shield. The Gate Class, following the design of the Freedom's Gate (Sophia Linegard's ship), was essential to all fleets as support vessels, having the largest range on their scanners, communications array, and jump engines. They were also armed with a whole array of powerful, yet slightly odd, weaponry. Each class of ship were powerful, strong, and nearly unbeatable when worked in perfect unison.

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from Judgement fleet's flagship, the Truth."

His second in command reported, breaking his line of thought. He nodded to the officer, and answered the transmission. Seira's face appeared, and she looked very different with the admiral stripes.

"Admiral Leingod."

He spoke with a formal tone, making Seira slightly squeamish. She wasn't used to being called that by her twin brother, her equal, and he knew that fully.

'"... Cut that out. Anyway, are you ready for launch?"'

"Hold on..."

He pressed a few keys, bringing up new lists and details of his ship. Fuel, food, soldiers, weapons, crew. Everything seemed to be ready.

"I'm ready on this end. Len, Kaine, Leon and Shion are safely onboard as well."

'"Faite, Stirn and Mira are on mine. Kirmi has Kairi and Shen on the Vertigo. Reina has Forrin and Keil on the Vision. Frey has Marian on the Innocence."'

No one knew where Rey went, and Maria just told Sora and the others to just go, as she herself would go look for Rey.

"That completes the check list. So, where is our first stop?"

Sora asked, bringing up the list of OPBs. There were a lot, and the ES military fleets were already heading out for most of the destinations to secure the OPBs and OPB killers. But there were a few that Maria Leingod had specifically picked out for her children. These were considered 'special' cases, for reasons even Sora and Seira did not know. Even the intelligence division doesn't have anything on what the Leingod matriarch was thinking.

'"Hmm... A planet called.... Senime.... It's in the Yushul system."'

"Yushul.... Looks like we have to stop by Elicoor II first then. Grab the necessary supplies needed for the covert entry."

Sora remembered that the Yushul system is mainly under-developed planets, and by strict laws, no one was allowed to reveal anything to the under-developed planets. Elicoor II had the right items and equipments for any covert operation. In fact, most of the ES military go to Elicoor II for training in cultural operations.

"Right... set a course for Elicoor II. Once we reach a safe distance from the station, Rip-jump."

Sora ordered his men. His second in command nodded, and turned to the crew, turning the communication lines on.

"Yes sir. All hands, prepare for launch. Retribution fleet, set course for Elicoor II."

Sora leaned back in his seat as his ship blasted out of its docking bay. This was going to be a long mission. He was sure of this.

* * *

**Elicoor II**

Much has changed the port planet of Elicoor II over the years. It was the planet that had melded past and future technology into one. It was also the place of reckoning. It was on this planet that many things had happened. The history books had placed this planet's importance as extremely high, as it was here that the first line of defence against the Executioners were formed. It was here that the famed God-slayer, Fayt Leingod, had formed his army, gathering powerful allies, and ending the oppression against the Eternal Sphere. This planet is the one that holds the 'Original Gate' to the Creator's room. And so Elicoor II was made into a planet of great importance to the Eternal Sphere. It had transformed from a mere underdeveloped planet, into a planet of trading, of learning, of knowledge, of understanding, and of the gathering of heroes.

'"_This is Elicoor II Orbital control. Unidentified ships, please wait while we scan your ships' identification tags... Alright, sorry for the hold. ES military fleets are to be directed to Aquarias Orbital docks on vector two-niner-six._"'

"Two-niner-six. Understood."

The fleets were directed towards the military docks that were right above the famed city of water. This was a privilege given to the ES military, as it was the ESF who had built Elicoor II into the planet it is today.

"Take her in nice and slow."

Sora was worried about a lot of things, and one was that maybe taking his ship through a Rip-jump almost immediately after being put back into service wasn't such a good idea. The moment they jumped out, a whole string of reports and errors came flying his way. The ship was still holding, but maybe he should have done a few warm-up runs. The docks of Aquarias is probably the largest docking bay for any military fleet, able to fit in all of the fleets of the ES military expedition force, and still have room for a few more ships.

"Alright. I'm going to be heading down. Lorden."

"Yes sir. I'll take care of her."

Sora nodded, and grabbed his hat, taking his leave from the bridge. He teleported down to the surface at the ES military base in Aquarios, meeting up with the rest of the group in the main office. It was odd that Maria let Faite follow them, and all other non-ES military people. But Sora knew that each of them were strong, and that he could count on them to watch his back. Everyone had been to Elicoor II before, in fact more times than they would like to count. Their parents had brought them here often for various reasons.

"So while our men go grab the supplies, what should we do?"

Stirn asked, before he spotted a group of village ladies, and decided to ask for the phone numbers. As usual, Mira had to follow him to make sure he doesn't do anything too wild.

"There goes the idiot. Well, leave that maggot be. Why don't we head to Peterny? I'm pretty sure there's something over there worth our time."

Len offered, and she didn't wait for anyone's agreement before she walked off. Reina stayed behind in the office to make sure nothing went missing and to complete some paper work, while the rest headed out of the city to head to Peterny. The roads used by the merchants have been more or less cleared of all monsters, and there were multiple patrols to make sure nothing else would dare pop up and disturb the trade roads, so there wasn't really a need to get bodyguards, especially when the roads were crowded and well used.

But Sora and the group didn't like to walk that much. They are racers after all. So they headed to the nearby dragon pens, rented some rides, and took off. They were all experienced in riding, so no one had too much trouble. Maybe Marian, who had a distinct dislike for anything reptilian. The group flew to Peterny, the ride not taking even an hour, and touching down in the dragon pens outside of Peterny. The group wasted no time and headed inside the bustling trading town of Peterny. Though they did not expect it to be so crowded.

"I wonder what's the commotion about."

Kirimi walked up to one of the road side stalls and asked the vendor about the crowd.

"You don't know? The famed Pepitta is in town. She's giving a concert to raise awareness of the hunger issues on Roak."

"Roak? You mean the planet Roak? Hard to believe that they would have hunger issues."

Kirimi replied. Roak was a planet made famous from history books for Earthlings, as during the first few years of the Star Date calendar, humanity had set out to look for a new planet to colonize since Earth was dying from being ravaged by war. The expedition forces travelled far, encountered many hardships, and made allies. Roak was one of the planets that the expedition forces visited, and established a friendship.

"Well, no one knows what happened. Some of the featherfolk from Roak are with Pepitta, so if you wish to know more, you should go ask them."

"... Thanks."

Kirimi joined back with the group, relaying what she heard to them.

"Roak... if i'm right, they're currently having a disagreement with the Morphus of En V, right?"

Seira asked, and Kirimi nodded in reply.

"Yes, though i don't think the Morphus had anything to do with the food shortage. Well, we'll know more once we talk to the featherfolk."

"IF we can get close, that is. Don't forget it's THE Pepitta we're talking about here. It's nearly impossible to get a ticket to her concerts, let alone get near her."

Shen reminded the group, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Do you think we could sneak backstage?"

Frey suggested, though it sounded stupid.

"Don't even think about trying that. The security is one of the best in this sector. Almost nothing can get past their eyes."

"That's what i thought.... wait, who said that?"

Everyone looked around for the source of the voice, yet found no one, till Faite squealed out in fright. Everyone turned to Faite, and saw a small person groping Faite's behind. Sora began to see red, and he drew his pistol, aiming at the small... thing, but he suddenly found his pistol missing from his hand, and in the hands of that same small thing. With a yellow helmet, and a bushy tail, the small person turned out to be a rather old looking Menoux. The small humanoid smiled, stroking his grey beard.

"You kids have much to learn. So, you want to see Pepitta? I can help you."

"... We don't even know you. Why would you want to help us?"

Sora raised an eyebrow at this lecherous old racoon. Sora didn't like guy, and personally, really wanted to punch this Menoux real hard for groping his sister.

"Hur hur. You may not know me, but i know you."

The tiny racoon old man then started to walk away, but stopped after a few steps.

"Well? Aren't you guys coming?"

"Return my gun first!"

"And let you shoot me again? Hmph, well, even if you did have it you could never beat me. Besides, the gun never left your holster."

The Menoux pointed to Sora's side, where Sora found his gun.

"What the-.... how did you do that?"

"Hur hur... you kids are a hundred year too young to be fighting me. Now, come on, follow me."

The group had no choice but to follow the old lecher, and they did not even know if this old man could help them get close to Pepitta. But one chance is better than no chance, even if it was a foolish one. They were led around the crowds, through a few back alley ways, till they ended up at the other end of the centre square. And the group found themselves behind a large make shift stage. In other words, they were now back stage of the stage in the town's square. And surprisingly there were no guards.

"All of the security were ordered to the front to make sure no fanatic fans got too close to Pepitta. She didn't want to go with the security fence, after all."

The Menoux explained, before sneaking in through one of the doors.

"Is he going to spy on Peppitta?... He is a lecher after all."

Sion muttered. However, it wasn't long before a loud scream came from behind the door, and it didn't sound like a girl. The group looked at each other, before rushing for the door. Sora was the first one to barge in, and the first thing he saw inside this dressing room, was the old Menoux stuck in a dent in the wall that had the same shape as he did.

"Oh? Roger, i didn't know you had friends. Thought you lost them years ago."

A voice sarcastically said. The group turned, and came face to face with a dark-skinned beautiful lady. She had pale blonde long hair that was tied up into a ponytail. Her clothes were sort of... revealing, to the point where the girls in the group smacked the boys to snap them out of their lust-locked faces.

"Are you Pepitta?"

Sora asked, and the woman smiled in a seductive manner.

"I wonder. That old Menoux wanted to make sure that i was Pepitta too, though i think his methods were rather.... crude, to say the least."

No one could refute that. The old racoon did deserve what he got. But now wasn't time for that. Sora stepped forward of the group to face the woman.

"I am ES military, Fleet admiral Sora-"

"I know who you guys are."

She stopped Sora in mid sentence.

"Children of the heroes. Of course i know. I've known each one of you since you were in diapers. Only reason why i couldn't see you guys grow up, is because i have a busy schedule."

"Huh? How-"

"Didn't your parents tell you? Or did you guys not read your history books? The name Pepitta should be there as one of the so called 'heroes' of the Executioner Wars... well, Roger over there is too."

The Menoux popped out of the dent in the wall, smiling while stroking his beard. Sora took a moment to think about it, before the answer dawned upon him. This woman is Pepitta. And his mother did tell them once about the two comrades, Pepitta and Roger, who aided them in the war. But he didn't really think much since he had never seen them before.

"Roger S. Huxley, at your service. I'm also the mayor of Peterny, so mind how you're treating me."

"Can it, Roger."

Pepitta flicked something at Roger, and sent the Menoux flying once more. What Peppitta used, was in fact a long piece of cloth.

"Is that a... cloth spear technique?"

Kirimi wondered out loud. The Loids had learned a whole library of martial arts techniques, so if there was one, Kirmi and Kairi should know about it. Pepitta smiled sweetly at Kirimi.

"You know your stuff, kid. Anyway, i know why you guys have come here. Maria gave me a call to tell me the details. I'm to go with you to search for the OPBs."

"Huh? But why? We don't need any supervision."

Shen replied, though he too was sent staggering back when Pepitta sent another cloth spear at his forehead. It happened so fast that no one had time to react. She certainly is strong. Very strong.

"I have fought against Executioners before. And not behind the helm of a battleship, but face to face. It would be problematic if you underestimate me."

"... Are we going to expect any Executioner?"

Seira asked, deducing everything she had gathered so far. Pepitta smiled once more. Seira was like her mother, calculative, and smart.

"Maybe."

* * *

"The Roak problem is linked to Providence. The Morphus of En V were simply acting as the instigators to prevent an outbreak of panic in the systems. Take a look at this."

Pepitta had taken the group out of dressing room and brought them into her private limousine, which was more like a large truck filled with luxurious goods than a car. She had opened a console, showing them images she had taken from the Featherfolk. The image was slightly blurred, but it was possible to see the reptilian features and large wings.

"Ever since Maria contacted me about this, i've been making my own investigations at her behest. Initial thoughts and beliefs have made most of the ESF brass shaking in their pants. Namely your parents. However, as i went about my investigations, as well as many others the ESF had gotten to do their dirty work, we all came to find that this creature is not what it may seem."

Pepitta took a data chip, and slotted it into the console by the table. Files, documents, pictures all came up. Almost none of them made any sense.

"... Creature DNA? Symbology applications? What is all this?"

Frey wondered, and Pepitta's lips curled into a smile.

"I managed to... persuade, a few people. People whom Providence is apparently getting a hold of to help them. They aren't involved directly, each only contributing a small portion, and paid with enough fol, or threatened enough, to keep their mouths sealed shut. Of course, there's nothing my name can't do to 'shake' them up. By comparing what Providence has done, and this picture, i'd say there's a pretty good chance that Providence isn't only trying to re-open the gates, but they're also trying to create their own Executioner army."

The group was stunned at that news. And somehow, found it hard to believe.

"It is impossible to duplicate an Executioner without using the Mainframe system of the Eternal Sphere. The most Providence can hope to accomplish is to create a strong creature as their pet. Either using it to guard them, or as a distraction. Take your pick."

"So.... what does Roak have to do with Providence?"

"Hmm.... how well do you guys know about the famed Edge Maverick?"

"That... he was the saviour of Earth during the initial expedition to find a new planet for Earthlings."

Shen answered, since he was the one who recently studied history. Pepitta nodded in reply.

"Yes. Although his life wasn't all glamorous and filled with heroic deeds, he did in the end become known as a hero. Together with many different races, he faced against a type of enemy that threatened the galaxy, or the Eternal Sphere, as we call it now. This enemy came from another dimension, and were called Grigori."

"Another dimension? That would mean-"

"Yes. Those Grigori came from the same place the Executioners were from. You could say that the Grigori are like the brains, planning and scouting, while the Executioners are the actual kill-and-destroy program. It is odd to have the brains do the scouting, but they were smart, and used other races to do their work. Now, it isn't confirmed, but reports have shown that Providence may have come into contact with a surviving Grigori. This may be how they are able to realize that using OPBs can re-open the gate."

"And would explain their 'divine will' bull crap."

Len said.

"Yes. Anyway, Edge Maverick was aided by the people of Roak, and so the Grigori had decided to take revenge. The Mophus or En V are also targeted, as are the Eldarians."

"So everything leads back to Providence."

Sora sighed. Was this what they meant by 'coincidence'? Or 'fate'?

"Yes. You guys won't have to worry about them though, they can manage. The Saionji clan has made the necessary precautionary measures to prevent anything from befalling those people."

"Saionji clan? You mean that Saionji?"

"Edge Maverick's wife was a Saionji, and she was with him on that expedition, so the Saionji clan has ties to Roak, En V, Eldar, and to the Grigori. Well, enough about that. You guys are going to need me on your journey. So, when do we leave?"

* * *

A/N: As i said before, i'm taking a lot of liberty with this. Things change, etc.

And the first enemy has made their appearance! But things are not as they seem! What exactly is Providence? Who are those who move behind the shadows? And what are their goals? Where has Rey gone? And what is his connection to Providence? What challenges await for Sora and Seira?

Oh, did i mention that whenever i listen to that english dub of SO 4, it makes me wanna bleed out my ears? I don't know how that other guy on the forums can say that it isn't bad.... i can't eat and play that game at the same time. I'll gag and puke at the same time. I need to mute my game whenever i play it.... but that would give me a bad tactical disadvantage.

Pepitta is using the 'cloth spear' or 'iron cloth' technique. It is usually only found in stories from China, but there may be an actual way to use it. If the cloth edges are lined with something heavy, it is possible for them to be thrown forward. Another method, which was actually my original idea for Pepitta's new weapon, is a cloth with a bell attached at the end. This design came from "The Return of the Condor Heroes", a famous chinese novel, and the main female uses martial arts and tiny bells with long thin cloths attached, so she throws them at the enemy and stuff. Then i remembered Mahou Sensei Negima, where Ku Fei fought Mana in the martial arts tournament, she used the cloth spear technique. In fact, i imagined Ku Fei as a 15 yr old Pepitta. Of course, in this story, Pepitta is already 30 plus, so she has an 'adult' charm to her. Have to make her.... sexy? It's hard to imagine, and frankly, it was hard for me to get her design together. Lots of researching went into her.... and i hope it isn't wasted.

I realized that Roger and Pepitta didn't have huge roles in my previous fics, mainly because i never used them when i played SO 3. So Pepitta is going to join Sora and Seira's group, while Roger will join the other group.

_**REMEMBER**_

I need you guys to tell me which characters you want in the main group. The original crew are not counted. But they WILL be heading out onto the frontlines soon. There isn't a limit to how many are within the main group, but if the group is too large, not all of them will have a chance to have any lines. The voting starts!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Not a lot of people reviewed.... i'll wait till i have at least five opinions on who should be in the main group.... though i more or less made my mind up already. But i'll wait. Here's something in the mean time.

Oh yes.... for the theme of God-killers, i would be borrowing Japanese games like Ikusa Megami (zero), etc. Those games are nice, but.... unfortunately are rated 18+.... good kiddies should not go play them. Be good and don't look.

I would also be using White Knights Chronicles (it's a new game from Japan.... it ended in a cliff hanger, so i'm pissed). The things won't be exactly the same, but just in case, i'll put a disclaimer when the time comes.

* * *

**We Stand Alone**

**Drevis IV**

He never liked coming here. Not once. But it was important for him to be here and get what he needs. This planet of filth, lies, deceit. Its air was like poison to him. Just inhaling it made him feel sick. It would normally be impossible to come here by a normal transport ship, and the only way to come here was by paying a rather lucrative merchant the right price. Drevis IV, the Underworld City. Gangs, felons, murderers, thieves. You name it, this place has it. A sinful planet, as some called it. The place where the worst of the worst gather, where you can drown in its filth. This place has no light, not a speck of decency.

Here, the law is in your own hands, meaning there isn't any. He made sure to cover his mouth with a cloth, for two reasons. One being he didn't want to be recognized, and two was to filter the foul air that lingered in this place. He made a turn at the left, and went down a flight of stairs to the basement of a certain building. A large Drogma (Dog man) with a face of a bulldog stood guard by a large iron bolted door. His muscles were certainly impressive, but they were nothing more than a facade to scare away unwanted and relatively normal people. Well, this Drogma could hold his own in a fight. The moment the Drogma saw him, the guard tensed up, his face baring yellow fangs.

"What do you want, Earthling?"

Apparently, Drogmas have very keen sense of smell, and being able to tell where a person, creature, or even items originally came from, but only if the Drogma themselves had been there. He personally did not want to talk to this Drogma, but since it was necessary to get inside, he would have to.

"Tell Mel that the reaper is here to see her."

The Drogma's eyes widened at that, and he quickly banged on the iron door in sequence. The lock of the door unclicked, and the door swung open. The Drogma stepped aside as he walked inside. It was only a hallway for now, but it was still filled with armed, and fierce, people from all over. Humans, Drogmas, Seraphs, Yzaks, Vendeeni, Morphuses, you name it, they're here. All eyed him with cautious glances, hands on gun triggers and knife handles.

"Reaper. Lady Windra is waiting, this way please."

A Morphus bowed before him, then led him down the hall. This Morphus wasn't as tall as the Drogma outside, but he could still tell that this Morphus is stronger than the guard outside. They walked through the entire basement, which consisted of multiple hallways and rooms. There were sleeping quarters, a few mess halls, manufacturing factories, armouries, and serving ports. With a lot of people going to and fro, it was hard to imagine this entire facility was located underground. This was a nest of illegal goods. One of the most vile places on this planet of evil. Illegal and or stolen weapons, drugs, technology were produced, imported, and exported here. The people here do both the work of producing and shipping the goods, and also as well trained mercenaries. No, mercenary wasn't the right word. Soldiers.

"Lady Windra is inside."

The Morphus stood by a pair of large metallic doors that had menacing figures carved onto it. As always, she likes flashy things. The doors swung open, and he stepped inside. The grand room had a ceiling that was three storeys up from the floor. The walls were decorated with lavish and expensive artworks and treasures. The room itself was decorated with furniture that wouldn't look out of place in a palace of a rich King. A rich red carpet was rolled out from the door to a large decorated golden throne, and sitting comfortable on that throne, was a woman. She was quite beautiful, with her rich chestnut brown hair flowing freely down to her waist.

She was dressed in rather crude clothing, like knee-high boots, mini shorts, a shirt that hangs on her shoulders loosely as she didn't bother to do any of the buttons, and a short sleeved trench coat. Yet she still commanded a great deal of respect. She had an eye patch over her left eye, yet her remaining blue eye was still as sharp as ever. He never understood why she would spend so much on decorations, yet never for her own clothes. He walked down the red carpet and stopped right before her. She had a sly smile on her face, and her eye was annoying him as always. He pulled down his face mask, and pulled his hood off, since in this room, only the two them were around.

"It's been awhile, Leingod."

She smiled, using a hand to lightly touch her eye patch. It was like a reminder of their first encounter, and it should be, since it was he who made her lose that eye.

"Apparently it's been too short. I would rather not have come here if there were a choice."

He replied flatly, not impressed with her idea of 'guilt-trips'. But what he said was the truth. He didn't want to count of people like her. Melrio Windra. Half Seraph, half Morphus. Pirate queen. Ex-elite commando captain of the 21st Seraph military division. Age unknown.

"Hey, you're thinking something bad about me, aren't you?"

She raised an eyebrow to him.

"No. What makes you say that?"

She's also very gullible.

"The fact that you're smiling. So, what did you come here for? Surely you didn't come here to just chat, did you?"

".... You know why i'm here."

He was losing his patience with her already, and she knew it, as evident with the smile that was widening on her lips.

"Well, you knows what you're talking about?"

"Don't play games with me, Mel. Or would you like to lose the other eye?"

Melrio's smile dropped slightly. A threat like that was something he wouldn't joke about. He was right, she does know why he came. She is one of the five lords of Drevis IV who rule the trades of businesses, so any sort of information would definitely come her way. She pulled out a screen and console, typing away and accessing the information he was looking for.

"Providence. They've been silently moving about for nearly ten years. After their main force was destroyed by the ES Military, they went covert, then launched an attack on Helio VI, in search of a 'key' that would be able to allow them entry into the mainframe of the Eternal Sphere. You."

She eyed him at that point. He's expression didn't change much, but she knew he was feeling irritated at her round-about way, and by the memories that still haunt him to this day.

"Wiped out by you, along with all civilians. The ESF managed to cover it up pretty well, and Providence has to recuperate their loses. They have bases in every sector, and their military might is non-measureable at this point. Rumours have it that they are in search of other 'keys'. OPBs, to be exact."

"Or OPB killers."

He added. Melrio raised an eyebrow at that. He reached into his pocket, and took out a chip, tossing it to her. She caught the chip, and slotted it into the arm rest of her throne, accessing the data within the chip. Additional screens came out, displaying information and lists. After reading for a while, Melrio's eyes widened in surprise.

"This... this is-"

"Records from the ESF. It was easy to crack into their system from my end. These reports detail everything the Providence have been doing for the past six months. My mother knew what was happening yet failed to tell her children anything."

"... Your mother is simply trying to protect her kids. Count yourself fortunate that you still have a mother to shower you with such luxuries."

"Hmph, i wonder about that."

Melrio sighed, shaking her head. This kid can sure be a handful. A mother who protects her children to such extents as to blinding them from the truth. She laughed inwardly at that thought. She doesn't even remember her mother, or her father. An orphan who was brought up to kill. That was her life. But this kid is too spoilt, and sheltered to know anything.

"So? With such information, why come here?"

"I need a ship, and men."

"... You have powers capable of wiping out all life on this planet, and yet you require a ship and men? And why come to me of all people?"

"They once targeted me, and i won't let my family be in danger because of that. I would also like to limit the number of times i use my power.... it is.... something that shouldn't exist."

Melrio noticed that his demeanour had changed. She had an inclination as to why he would say such things, after all, she knew about his family's history. Although he was rather spoilt, he was someone who knew the burden of life more than anyone else.

"... So why ask me?"

"Your men are the most well trained and disciplined of all. I'm up against Providence, and i cannot afford to make a single mistake."

".... and with what would you pay by?"

"No amount of fol can pay what i am asking for, therefore i have decided that there can only be one type of payment."

He reached into his cloak, and pulled out a knife. He did not even hesitate as he brought the knife to his left eye, but a shot rang out, hitting the knife out of his hand, and scattering it to one side. He looked up, and saw Melrio standing, gun drawn and smoking. She narrowed her eye at him, angry at his decision.

"Don't even **THINK** about doing that. What makes you think that you can pay with your eye? Did you think it would make me happy? Make me satisfied about losing my eye to you? Don't you dare underestimate me. You may be right about how no matter what amount of fol you prepare, it wouldn't be enough to make me risk my men on such a dangerous job, but you are not right about such a stupid answer."

She paused to recollect her cool, though all this while, he did not even seem to flinch, just staring at her expressionless. Melrio kept her pistol, and tapped onto a button on the console.

"Kiron, prepare the ships and the men."

She ordered through the intercom.

"... Are you sure you do not need any payment?"

He wondered. She looked at him and smiled.

"I've already been paid with such a fine, though stupid, act. You best be prepared for what you're bargaining for, Rey Leingod."

He smiled at that, thinking about how no matter what he said, she could always out talk him.

"I know what sort of hell i'm stepping into."

"Good."

_'"Lady Windra, are we preparing for a raid?"'_

A voice came back to her on the intercom. Melrio looked at Rey, and her smile turned into a smirk.

"No... We're preparing for war."

* * *

**Earth**

Maria Leingod stared at the screen once more, reading the lines of the letter once more. 'Do not worry'. Worry? Of course she would worry! What was her son thinking? Disappearing all of a sudden. But even though Rey managed to get away from her sight, it did not mean he was safe from the ESF intelligence. Kanai had just reported that Rey was spotted heading towards Drevis IV. For whatever reason he had to go to that waste planet, Maria knew she would never stop scolding him for it.

But maybe she was too harsh on him, and that was why he left. Maria had often doubted herself whether she was actually capable of raising a child properly. Fayt had left her when Rey was still young, and so it was him who felt her depressive state the most. She wouldn't know if Rey felt unwanted, or isolated. Maria also knew of Rey's bitter hatred towards his own father. Fayt had felt the same way after all. It was like Rey inherited Fayt's personality, though on the less kind side.

"Maria... are you ready?"

She looked up at the call of her name. Mirage, Nel and Sophia stood there, waiting for her. Maria looked at the screen once more, before shutting it down. She opened her drawer, and picked out the pistol that sat inside. It was a memento of Fayt, and it was his promise that if she held onto this, he would return to her. When Fayt left her, she had clung onto this pistol every day and night. But he didn't return.

Now that she thought about it, she sort of knew that he wouldn't return even if she did cling onto this. But it did bring a sense of comfort to have this with her. She ran a finger down its barrel, where words were engraved on it. 'Till the End of Time'. She had brought this pistol to engrave those words after their wedding. It was their vow to stay together. No, now wasn't only about him. He gave up everything he had to protect her and their children. She would do the same. She slotted the pistol into her pistol holder, and walked towards the three waiting ladies.

"Farleen has already filled in your position. As long as her disguise doesn't fail..."

Nel looked out of window rather worryingly.

"Maria's symbology doesn't fail that easily. Don't worry. It isn't 'alteration' for nothing."

Sophia replied with a rather cheery voice.

"Easy for you to say. Unlike you and Maria, the rest of us age rather easily. It cannot be helped if we tend to worry so easily."

Mirage sighed, feeling worried about wrinkles. Maria smiled lightly at this conversation. It made her feel slightly better about this. But there was no turning back now. They have to make their move.

"... I hope the Diplo is still in operational condition."

"Don't worry about it, Maria. Cliff kept it in tip-top condition without anyone else finding out. Since the Diplo is not registered under the ESF, no one would even realize that we're gone."

Mirage reassured the leader of the ESF. Maria nodded at that. No one would know that they would have left. It would be only one ship after all. Just like old times.

"Well then, let's go. We shouldn't keep the others waiting. I know Cliff and Albel are just waiting to beat each other up."

* * *

A/N: Rey is so emo..... well, Maria is setting off, Rey is going off..... i was thinking that i focused too much on fleets that i forgot the essential part of Star Ocean games.... they always go in one ship.... which sounds so unreal actually.... So we have multiple groups now. The ES Military, Providence, Rey's pirate fleet, Maria's Diplo, and the stolen Eternal Vengence driven by the God-killers..... five groups? whoah.... i think the future battle scenes are going to be hectic.... I'm thinking of drawing out the characters..... but my drawing sucks and my sis is away on holiday..... i'll try to draw, but i won't put it up anywhere if it isn't good. And my standard is high.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hey, it's been awhile since i updated. Apparently waiting for people to drop in their picks was a bad idea. No one replied except for one. Oh well. I guess that's it for this series. Popularity does drop as more installments are introduced.

I have not been focusing much on this story since i was waiting for people to throw in their two cents worth, so don't expect much. This arc is quite crappy, since i didn't really plan this out well. Then again, all of my stuff are crap.

These days i'm focusing on my other stories, like my ragnarok fic (it's my pride and joy.... or not). I'm also starting new fics like Nanoha and Hellsing.... if you followed my stories, you would know that i suck at writing anime fics.... but i'm going to give it a try anyway. This story is going to be dropped soon, so i'll start to wrap things up..... after two more arcs.  
**

* * *

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**Planet of Conflict**

**Orbit of Senime, Yushul system**

Sora did not really like the clothing that he had to wear. First off, why was there a need to wear these rags? Or as Seira put it, waste materials? The dressings were from Elicoor II, but according to scout reports, the fashion seemed to be somewhat similar. Senime does seem to be in the same time period as Elicoor II before the latter became a modernized trading hub, Earth's 17th century. Most of them were wearing simple tunics with pants (girls wore short shorts), though Seira refused to cloaks, as it would only make them stand out more. Or maybe it was a fashion taboo.

The ground team was assembled in the hangar of the Wrath, and consisted of only Sora, Seira, Len, Kaine, Leon, Sion, Kirimi, Faite, and Pepitta. When leaving Elicoor II, they had decided to split the fleets in order to search out the OPBs and the OPB killers quickly. And so, Sora, Seira, Len, Kaine, Leon, Sion, Kirimi, Faite, and Pepitta formed one group. The second group was made of Frey, Marian, Stirn, Mira, Shen, Keil, Kairi, Reina, Forrin, and Roger. The second group was supposed to head towards Audion X, in the Solaris system. The OPB located on that planet had gone missing, and so they were sent in to investigate. As for Senime, the OPB killer on this planet may be hostile, and so it was necessary for those with genetic symbology to handle this case. In case that failed, Kirimi was here as support with her Loid bloodline. That would be Kairi's role in the second group as well.

"Are you guys ready?"

Sora turned to the others, who all nodded. Sora turned to Pepitta, who wasn't really wearing the same thing as everyone else. She wore a rather revealing dress, and apparently refused to wear anything else. Seira had to step on Sora' foot to get him to focus on the mission. They stepped up onto the teleportation platform, and got ready to get transported down.

"System checks, done. All green. Ready when you are, sir."

The technician looked to Sora, who nodded his head.

"Right, teleporting in three, two, one, safe trip sir."

Soon, everything was bright, blinding everyone who still had their eyes open. A cooling sensation washed over them, and soon it was over. Sora blinked a couple of times, before he let his body re-orientate itself. The landing area was a clearing in a forest, and it seemed like no one was around. But to be extra cautious, Sora tapped his ear piece, connecting back to his ship.

"Lorden, any lifeforms near our landing spot?"

_'"Not that i can see. All clear."'_

"Good, keep me updated if anything unexpected occurs."

_'"Understood, sir."'_

Sora tapped his watch computer, and it materialized two things, a steel sword, and a leather bag. He opened the pouch and took out a single gold coin. It had a simple design on it, and Sora had to wonder, was gold really that valuable? There was a system he went to, where every single planet had an abundance of gold, and so it was practically worthless, but for most underdeveloped planets in other systems, gold seemed to be the staple currency. He checked his watch again for directions, and found that they landed some distance away from the nearest town. The others had done the same with their watches, equipping themselves with weapons and some of this planet's currency.

"We're currently on one of the four continents of Senime. It isn't confirmed who is the OPB, or OPB killer, and to be honest, the report itself is very sketchy."

Seira explained.

"Huh? What do you mean 'sketchy'?"

Leon asked. Unlike the fleet admirals, the others were not exactly part of the ES military. While they did do training, and actually earned ranks, they did not need to follow protocols, or orders. Which also meant, they were free to question the fleet admirals before the fleet admirals have a chance to explain.

"There have been conflicting reports. While most of them state that there is only one OPB killer on this planet, others seem to point that two additional OPB killers have risen. And therefore we are to locate the first confirmed OPB killer, and see if we can get any more information."

Kirimi calmly explained.

"And what are we suppose to do with those damn killers of 'oily powder baskets'?"

Len asked, earning puzzled looks from everyone.

"Nee-san... it's 'Out-of-Place Being'."

Kaine sighed.

"Don't correct me, Kaine! I know what i said!"

"And you were wrong, Nee-san."

Len's face went red as she fumed up at her brother, but when Sora placed a hand on Len to stop her, she immediately sighed, and let go of her anger.

"Fine, whatever."

Sora was thinking at this point that maybe bringing Len and Kaine wasn't such a good idea. But then again, only Sora and Frey were able to cool off Len easily. Stirn, however, would somehow make Len turn bright red, and run off. The group set off, taking a dirt path that was before them. The trees around them were silently staring on as they tried to push through the thick thicket. The vegetation on this continent was described to be a lush tropical type that stayed close to the ground, while the tall trees were obviously meant for colder climates. It was a bizarre and unusual type of planet.

'"Sir, Alpha and Beta teams have landed successfully. They will begin construction of base camp before deploying for scouting and infiltration."'

Lorden reported over the earpiece. Sora did not really ask for back-up, but he was sure Kirimi pushed for that order. The five lion fleet admirals each had their own form of personality that is reflected upon their fleets and strategies. Sora was the all-out attack type, and so his fleet was mainly made up of assault ships. Seira was a defensive type, and so she tended to use her thick hulled ships to defend the other fleets. Frey was a support type, mainly because of his rather passive nature. His fleet and soldiers were mainly engineers and medics. But there were experimental weapons that he could use, and he sometimes took too much fun in using them. Reina was the intelligence admiral, her ships were meant for covert operations and information gathering.

The latest cloaking technologies had enabled her ships to practically disappear completely without a trace. Kirimi was the calm and collected admiral, also nicknamed the 'ice queen' because she would never flinch in the face of any event or enemy. And she had one of the best strategic minds in the ES military, capable of matching people like Claire Lasbard, Kanai Koisk, and even Maria Leingod in a battle of strategies. She would never hesitate to use her men endlessly, almost like a slave driver. But she would never sacrifice her men, or place them in the line of enemy fire. Knowing Kirimi, Sora figured that she was planning to do something with two companies of troops.

But what exactly was she planning to do with two contingents of well trained soldiers, was beyond Sora. What was Kirimi planning to do? Blow up the entire city if the OPB refuses to cooperate? Somehow or rather, coupled with that image, Sora was imagining Kirimi ordering the fleets in orbit to glass the planet. That would be a serious breach of protocols, not to mention literally burning through five hundred pages of galatical laws. No, Kirimi wouldn't do that.... would she?

"Sora, i didn't think you were so distrusting of our friends."

Seira commented lightly, making Sora stiffen his back. The others did not seem to hear what Seira said, but it still made Sora rather uncomfortable, getting Seira to peep into his thoughts.

"Don't worry, Kirimi won't do that.... though i can see how your thoughts can run that way."

Seira added, patting her twin brother on the back. An image appeared in Sora's mind, most likely projected from Seira, depicting Kirimi with devil horns, flames spewing from her mouth, and being the size of a giant tower. Wait, wasn't there a historical film like this?

"The two incest twins should keep walking."

Kirimi stated cooly, making Sora and Seira jump slightly. The group continued onwards down the dirt path, and the path only seemed to keep going. Len was shouting swearing words about how there weren't any rest stops. Sion, being the sarcastic one, suggested that Len should cut down a tree so that she could sit on it. Len, who always look up to Sion, was quick to draw her sword.

"I'm just joking."

Sion replied right before Len swung her blade, and when Len would swing her sword, no one could really stop the destruction that would ensue.

'"Sir, we're picking up a life form ahead of your current position... scans indicate that there are multiple magnetic, and sub-existential particles closing in on that life form."'

".... non-tangible objects?"

'"Yes.... spirits, some might say."'

Sora didn't like fighting those kind of enemies. There were immune to physical attacks, and so only symbology worked on them.

"Ghosts? Ha! As if such worthless worms could prove to be a threat! Right, Sion nee?"

Len turned to Sion, but found that the latter was no longer standing where she was suppose to be standing, and instead, cowering behind a tree. It was noted that the tree in question that Sion Lasbard decided to hide behind, was about five trees away from her original position, behind.

"I forgot Sion can't deal with ghosts too well."

Leon sighed, walking over to try to get his sister to follow.

"If i remember correctly, Leon was the main reason Sion is afraid of ghosts."

Kirimi added after Leon was out of ear shot. Sora had no comment on that.

"Well, we best go. That life form could be a local who could tell us more on the OPB."

Sora gripped his gloved fist, feeling the energies flow freely. For this operation, most restrictions on their symbology would be lifted. Time to test that. The group rushed on ahead, while Leon had to drag Sion (read as kidnap) to follow the group. Len was, as usual, at the front of the group with sword drawn and cutting down a path (read as road of carnage/destruction). It wasn't long when they reached a clearing, where a cloaked figure was kneeling on the ground, staring rather intently at the grass. Their movements made the person look up, and turn to them.

"We mean you no harm, but this place is dangerous."

Sora immediately said, hoping his wrist translator was working. The stranger did not move, nor seem to even respond to his statement, but now wasn't the time to figure out if his translator was working or not. By now, the entire clearing was surrounded by floating and rather translucent beings that look like they were made of purple or black smoke. A thick miasma started to roll in at the same time, but Seira activated her symbol, preventing the poisonous fog from rolling any further towards them. Sora summoned his symbol, swords appearing all over him, and floating swords that hover around him.

Kirimi covered her right eye, and when she dropped her hand, her pupil had a black cross on it. Len gripped onto her sword tightly, her grin widening with each second. Kaine had his hands on his twin short swords, though he was well versed in basic symbology. Sion had already lost consciousness, while Leon stood by his sister and Faite to protect them. Pepitta didn't seem fazed by these ghosts, as expected of one of the original heroes who fought against the creator, and even later in the executioner war. This sort of enemy probably wasn't even worth facing.

"Here they come!"

The apparitions flew in to attack, but Seira's symbology flared, creating giant shields to appear all around the group, preventing the enemies from coming any closer. Sora grabbed his swords and drew them, throwing them at the ghosts as Seira made her shields disappear. The swords that flew about Sora deflected any attacks the enemy threw at them, protecting them from a deadly onslaught. Len charged out with Kaine right behind. Len gathered her energy and dragged her blade through the ground in an uppercut that sent a shock wave of energy out, slicing through anything and everything.

Kaine threw one of his short blade at the ground, summoning his symbology as a group of spirits hovered closer to him. As soon as the spirits were above his blade, he released a bolt of lightning, striking the blade in the ground and releasing a massive amount of wild energies into the spirits, making them disappear. Pepitta simply slapped a spirit that came too close to her, and stepped on another that thought her skirt looked delicious.

"Faite, get down."

Leon warned as he took out a small device that extended out and wrapped around his palm with thin leg-like grips. The device itself hummed to life and released small bursts of energies. It was an experimental weapon designed to be used by people who are not too compatible with symbology. Leon and Sion, while they do not normally use symbology, do have other skills up their sleeves. Leon had the mental capabilities of his father, capable of doing extremely complex and difficult problems within his head in a mere second. Leon's first energy burst only sent the spirits back, not injuring them, so Leon immediately analyzed the situation, and readjusted the device's power output and frequency, releasing a burst that managed to cut through the enemies. Sion's ability, however, was something that needed to be seen to understand.

"Sora!"

Seira called out to her twin brother, and he nodded in reply. They retreated back and stood back to back. Their hands met and held onto each other tightly. They released their symbols in unison, and two translucent figures rose from their formation. A wild looking swordsman, and a heavily armoured woman. Shields fell from the sky forming a circle around the twins, and swords fell into slots that were behind each shield.

A collection of energies exploded from the shields and swords, scattering a blinding light that dissolved all of the apparitions, and the miasma. The clearing became normal once more, and while Sora wasn't all too happy about how Leon was using modern technology to fight, he guessed since Faite was alright, that it would be allowed. Seira turned to the cloaked person, who did not seem to be surprised or anything, like it was a common outcome to be attacked by spirits, and then rescued by strangers. Wait, that in itself is strange.

"Are you alright?"

The stranger looked at Seira, then to each person in the group, before pulling the hood back, revealing, to the surprise of everyone, an extremely beautiful young woman. With long reddish orange hair, clear blue eyes, this lady seemed to exemplify and personify the very essence of perfection. Even the girls in the group found themselves mesmerized by this woman's beauty.

"Is... something the matter?"

The woman asked. At that moment, Leon fainted from hearing an angelic voice. Pepitta was the only one who looked at this woman with a different sort of interest. Sora shook himself and managed to recover from his trance.

"We're looking for the nearest town. Do you think you could guide us?"

In truth, they didn't need a guide, since they could just get Lorden to give them an orbital view. But it would be best not to ask anything suspicious first. Besides, if a local guided them into town, they would seem less conspicuous. The woman smiled softly, making Sora's heart skip a few beats.

"Of course. It is the least i could do for your help. This way."

The woman turned and headed towards one end of the clearing. It took a moment to get everyone back to normal, before they followed the woman. The path the woman led them was wider, and less covered with bushes.

'"We're not tracking any more hostiles in the area."'

Lorden reported. It was good that Lorden would do these sorts of reports regularly, since Sora tends to get lazy.

"Oh yes, i haven't gotten your names."

The woman turned her head to them.

"Oh.... I'm Seira, this is my brother Sora, my younger sister Faite. These are our friends, Len, Kaine, Leon, Sion, and Kirimi. That person is like our... guardian. Pepitta."

Seira did not know how to put Pepitta among this group of relatively younger people. Pepitta did not seem to mind, or notice. The woman smiled politely at that.

"Must be nice. Going on an adventure with friends."

"Not really, sometimes it can get troublesome."

Seira was mainly referring to a few things, like Sora's recklessness, Len's wild and crude swearing, and constant arguments with Kaine, Leon's tendency to be spacing out, and Sion's unnatural talent to be sarcastic, and piss off everyone. The woman smiled softly at that.

"Such times can be enjoyable too."

"... I guess."

Soon they reached the end of the path, arriving at the gates of a large city. It was clear that this was probably the capital, as evident by the large number of people going in and out, as well as the sheer size of the city itself. The woman guided the group inside the city walls and through the busy market place, till they reached the town square.

"This is Halzarel, capital city of Ikuse continent. You can ask the innkeeper at that inn for any information."

The woman smiled, before disappearing into the crowd. And so, the group was left alone in the busy streets of Halzarel. For now, they would need to split up for information. Sora and Seira headed straight for the inn. Len and Kaine went to talk to the blacksmiths, since they were more likely to 'click with people who could talk hot metal', as Sion had put it. As for Leon and a groggy Sion who just awoke, they headed over to the merchant stalls to investigate. Pepitta went her own way, saying she would go about on her own investigation, and would only meet up with them once she found a good inn for all of them that night. In short, she let them do the dirty work while she goes off to shop and find a place to sleep. That left Kirimi and Faite. The youngest Leingod sibling looked around the busy town, taking in the colourful sights and sounds.

The architectures of the buildings, the people who were all going about their own businesses. Kirimi looked at Faite with a smile. Faite was adored by all, a young radiance of innocence, untainted by any corruption. But because she was untainted, that Kirimi worried about the future. Unlike the fleet admirals, and the others, Faite did not receive any form of combat or military training. She vulnerable and weak. Kirimi wondered why would President Leingod would want her youngest daughter, who had been sheltered her entire life, to be placed in the forefront of such an important, and dangerous military operation? Kirimi, and the other fleet admirals, had seen some of the worst that the Eternal Sphere has to offer. Slave trading, pirates, cannibals, corrupted politicians, drug trafficking. It was hard to take down the sorts of things they had seen. For Faite, this was the first time she would be out without her mother, or an entire horde of ES military personnals watching her directly.

"... Say Faite, do you want to take a look around?"

Faite looked at Kirimi with a brightened smile. Her eyes were practically radiating with her happiness and excitement.

"Can we?"

"Of course."

Kirimi smiled, as the two made their way into the busy market. As for the others.

"Hmm.... this really is a fine piece of metal work you have here, geezer."

Len smirked as she inspected the sword in a certain blacksmith's shop. The smith himself, was quite the old, yet wild looking type of guy.

"Ha! A squirt like you can tell a good blade! Brats these days sure have guts!"

"You're one to talk old fart!"

Len and the old man glared at each other with murderous gazes, before bursting out in laughter. It should be noted that Len's laughter was almost matching the old man's, laughing like an old man was something Len was capable of doing. Kaine simply stood by one side, shaking his head.

"Nee-san..."

"Tch, i know, i know. Don't remind me too much or you'll get me deaf, twerp."

Len scratched her head, putting the sword back down.

"Old fart, do you know any weird stories?"

The old smith raised an eyebrow at Len, before scratching his head.

"Stories, eh? What do i look like, a nanny?"

"Not that you piece of empty cranium!"

Kaine wanted to point out that Len had a tendency to use rather complex words with her swearing, something their father did not use. Len's swearing was.... unique. More vulgar, and yet more complex than their father's. Len had to take in a deep breath to cool her head.

"We're looking for.... old legends, like... Gods?"

At that, the old man raised his eyebrows.

"You.... you're here to challenge... the God-killer?"

That word got the attention of Len and Kaine.

"God-killer?"

"Yes... many years ago, way before i was born, there was the legend of the God-killer. God-killer Selika Silwin. Infamous for killing not one, but ten different Gods."

"Ten?!"

* * *

**Somewhere else in Halzarel**

"Welcome back, master."

The maid took his cloak as he stepped into the mansion. He smiled sweetly to her, making her blush furiously. She was relatively new compared to the other maids here, so wasn't all too used to him, yet. A second maid walked up to him, bowing politely.

"Master, how was your walk?"

She asked, helping him take off his armour.

"Hmm... i saw some interesting people today. No doubt they are here for me."

"More adventurers looking for fame?"

"Maybe. But i suspect there is another reason."

He walked on into his study, where tons of books that used to line the numerous bookshelves were scattered across the room, making the place look like a hurricane swept by. A long blue haired beautiful woman sat on the desk, reading a book with a bored look on her face. She did not even look up to him when he entered.

"You're back."

She simply stated as he sat down in the chair by the fireplace.

"I'm back, Haishella... You should really learn to clean this place up."

"I read what i like, and put them where i want to. Hasn't it been this way for the past thousand years, Selika?"

He smiled at that. A thousand years of constant wandering. It was too long. But she was the only one who stood by his side throughout the times. She... and 'her'.

"See anything interesting?"

Haishella asked, putting down her book to face Selika. The God-killer chuckled while staring into the flickering flames of the fireplace.

"... We may be getting busy again, Haishella."

* * *

A/N: Like i said, this part is based off some japanese games... young kiddies should not play them. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


	12. Chapter 12

**A Killer's Tear**

**Market**

Sora and Seira returned to the market square after a long talk with the innkeeper of the inn that the lady showed them to. It wasn't like the inn was very useful, but they did get a lot of information on other things, like histories, culture, legends, and other sorts. Len and Kaine returned from the blacksmiths, and the four began to share their information.

"This god-killer, Selika... sounds like a monster."

Kaine pulled out a picture drawing that a blacksmith handed to them. It depicted only the back of a swordsman, battling some sort of dark force. But that figure certainly looked feminine.

"Defeated ten Gods... Not all at once, but still.... And is this person still alive?"

"OPBs and OPB killers usually have immortality when it comes to aging. Not always though."

Seira answered Kaine's question rather quickly.

"What we got from the inn wasn't exactly helpful, but we do know the situation of this planet. Four continents. To the North, Dorein. To the West, Himegol. To the South, Raizol. And this one of the East, Ikuse. What makes this complicated, is that three of the four continents have legends of God-killers."

Sora sighed, thinking about how his job was just getting more hectic.

"As we know, Ikuse has god-killer Selika, known to be the oldest of all, and fought ten different Gods. To the North, Dorein, has a god-killer who is also a vampire. The vampire lord known as Keira. To the West, Himegol has a rather recent God-killer, known as 'Demon Lord'."

"Great, we've got to go there to to grab more weirdos."

Len grumbled. While their mission did say that they were suppose to go get the OPBs and place them under ESF protective custody (read as kidnapping), they were only expecting one OPB on this planet, not so many. Was this planet special that it required so many OPBs? Or was there something else? Some unknown secret behind all of this.

"Either way, we need to find this Selika Silwin. I have a feeling that he has some of the answers we seek."

Seira answered Sora's troubled questions. They really needed to stop reading each other's minds. At that point, Leon and Sion returned from their information hunting at the merchant stalls.

"We heard of someone in this city who seems to know a lot about the God-killers and their legends."

Leon reported, taking out a piece of parchment that had some crude drawings on it. Sora and the others looked at Leon for some answers, though Leon actually had none.

"The informant was a five year old kid who seems to enjoy listening to legends, and also eavesdropping."

Sion explained. It took awhile for the others to get what Sion was saying though.

"So in exchange for five gold pieces, we got a map to the storyteller's house, albeit a rather poorly done one. If nii-san had done a better job at negotiating, we could have gotten the same quality for half the amount we paid."

Leon simply laughed weakly at his younger sister's insults. What a man. Or a wuss.

"So, let's head over to... wait, where's Faite?"

Sora looked around, but saw no sign of the young Leingod. Kirimi was gone too.

"... Lorden, can you pick up Kirimi and Faite's signals?"

'"Unfortunately, there's some sort of jamming field over this city. I can't even tell where you guys are."'

".... Dammit."

Now Sora was feeling worried. Though Kirimi was reliable in combat, it was hard to tell what sort of thugs may be around these parts that would use any underhanded techniques available. The ice queen was a great strategist behind the front-lines, meaning her skills in close combat would be weaker than the others. Her Loid blood was weaker than her sister's for some unexplained reason, and only manifests itself in one eye, resulting in weaker powers. The 'ice queen' may be calm and collected, but Sora knew that Kirimi would fear even the smallest of things.

She even needed to cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming out right when they fought against mutated roaches. Kirimi was actually quite the girlish person, but refuses to show it. Her strong, cold exterior usually deceives most into thinking she is tough. And then there was Faite. Sora dotes on Faite, no question about it. Heck, everyone does. Faite, the young, pure, innocent girl who has been sheltered her entire life. Sora swore that when he gets back to Earth, he would have a good chat with his mother.... but he better write his will before he even dares to think about facing his mother.

"... Spread out, find those two before something bad happens to them."

Sora issued the order to those around, and they broke off, looking in different parts of the market.

* * *

And as expected, at one end of the market, the said lost two were currently surrounded by rough, and well built men, who each had plenty of scars, and perverted looks on their faces. Kirimi had to wonder, how did she end up in these situations more often than others? If she remembered, when they all younger, Sora saved her from some thugs as well. Kirimi eyed each an every enemy that surrounded her and Faite. Faite was trembling slightly, but she had a rather strong look on her, so Kirimi figured Faite would be alright for the moment. Still, it wouldn't be a good idea to let anything happen to Faite. The matriarch of the Leingod family, Maria Leingod, was known to be the 'blue devil' when it came down to her children safety. If anything were to happen to any of her kids, nothing would stop her from killing somebody.

Even close friends or relatives of the Leingods weren't spared. Kirimi remembered of senator Fitter once tried to flirt with Seira when the twins graduated from the ES academy. He ended up in the emergency ward for a week, with doctors trying to repair all of the damage down to his internal organs. That thought made a shiver go down Kirimi's spine, and she prayed that that the next person on Maria's death list wasn't going to be her. She better not make a reason to have her name on that list. But could she do? She wasn't as power as the others. Her hand reached to the sword that dangled by her side.

Her mother had drilled her in the basics of the Loid style, but even in that area she fared worse than her sister. Kirimi never had to physical aptitude for combat. She was prone to get sick seeing blood, cried whenever someone died, be it friend or foe, and she never had the energy to keep fighting for long periods of time. Her eyes darted from one attacker to another. She could try to rush out, but her energy would run out fast. With Faite here, things were becoming complicated.

"... Faite, stay close to me."

Kirimi raised her hand to her eye. She could only activate her Loid powers for short periods of time each day, any more and her body would start to break down. That was something she could not afford. Not in this type of situation. She resisted the urge to pull out her blaster as that would be in violation of the cultural preservation act. Even if these were low life thugs who deserved nothing more than to be squashed under a boot like the roaches that they were, they were still under the protection of the law. Even if they didn't know it. The only weapon she had was an Estoc that she generated when they touched down.

It wasn't anything fancy, and she had sat on the admiral's chair long enough to forget a large portion of her training. There was still a few minutes till she could reactivate her powers. This was one of the things she didn't like about having only half of the powers of her mother and sister. She forced her strength, straining her minds to focus. The pupil of her right eye flickered, but it was only a mere second. She tried once more, straining her powers to activate. Her right flickered again, the powers turning on and off like a dying light struggling to stay alive. The pain that seared in her head suddenly took a turn for the worse, piercing her mind like a sword, shattering her focus and draining her strength completely. Kirimi collapsed onto the ground, clutching onto her eye as the pain was grew within her.

"Kirimi nee!"

Faite quickly tried to see what was wrong with the older woman. The pain was so great that the strain was shown clearly on Kirimi's face, gasping for air, her eyes wide, pupils dilated. Faite had never seen such horrors that for a moment, her heart stopped.

_'Calm down, Faite. She isn't dying. Yet.'_

The voice in Faite's head didn't really try much to help with the situation at this point.

_'Her powers are unstable. She tried to force them way beyond how much she could handle.'_

"Would she die? Why is she in so much pain?"

_'The backlash from trying to use her powers when she shouldn't is placing a huge burden on her mind. She wouldn't die from it, but it could cause some permenant damage if left alone, not to mention if she tries to force it again.'_

The news was somewhat devastating for Faite. Someone really needed to make sure that that voice in her head learns some restraint.

_'Don't mind her. I'll go beat some decency into her.'_

A second voice said rather calmly, though with a slight tinge of irritation.

"Kirimi nee..."

"You sure know how to get into trouble, don't you?"

A voice said, making Faite look up. Standing before her, was a familiar face. With flowing fiery red hair, the young woman from before stood by Faite, holding onto a black, yet majestic sword that pulsated with power.

"You-"

"Don't worry, girl. I will take care of these thugs."

The woman raised her sword, and swung it once, cutting across through the air. A great energy wave blasted from the sword, knocking the ruffians all away. And they didn't just fly a few feet away. They flew a few kilometers up, and away. Faite simply sat there, shocked and amazed at the sight.

"Faite!"

The voice of her brother made Faite turn. Sora and the others ran up to her, checking if she was still alright.

"Kirimi? Dammit! She tried to do that reckless thing again... Sion, can you-"

"On it.... though why do i have to help a rival..."

Sion muttered the last bit under her breath as she set about beginning to apply first aid.

"Kaine, go help her."

Len quickly said, her eyes not looking at either Kirimi, or Faite. But rather, her eyes were looking at the young woman who saved Faite. And Len had her hand to her sword, ready to draw it. Sora too felt the sense of danger from this woman, standing between the lady and Faite. The woman eyed the group, who now held their weapons against her. She sighed, shaking her head, before sheathing her sword.

"While i do applaud your smarts for not easily trusting everyone you meet, i would also like to say that you are all not smart enough to recognize a battle you cannot win when you see it."

The woman brushed her hair aside, her deep blue eyes that were once so mesmerizing, now gave off a sense of dread and fear that no one in the group could react to. Everyone was frozen by her mere gaze. Such power now stood before them, dominating them without even doing anything. Sora felt his grip on his sword falter, his blade shaking his in hands. No, it wasn't his sword. His hands were shaking uncontrollably.

In that instant, he knew who he was facing. He had faced this feeling before. This feeling of fear that made him realize just how insignificant he really was in comparison to them. The feeling that made him feel as though he could die just there and then. The power and magnitude that would make even facing off against the fabled executioners feel like a walk in the park. This woman was undoubtedly an OPB, or a killer of one. The one from this continent? Or from another? So many possibilities, so many answers, and at least twice the number of questions. And yet he did not even think that he would live long enough to have any those.

"Now you know the meaning of true fear."

The woman curled her lips into a smile.

* * *

They had to wonder what they were doing as they all sat in the large room that was decorated with multiple lavish furniture. In the first place, they were amazed by the sight of the place they had entered. A giant mansion that sat at one end of town. The mansion was not just giant, it dwarfed the castle that was suppose to belong to the King of the continent. Just who is this woman? And what was with the army of maids in this house? The moment they stepped into the house, two whole rows of maids lined the entrance way, bowing at the same time and all chanting at the same time 'welcome'. It was beyond weird. It was freaky, almost to the point where Len nearly drew her sword by instinct.

Yet those maids didn't seemed alarmed when Len did so, which didn't go unnoticed by Sora and Seira. The others, Kaine, Sion and Leon were busy trying to restrain Len so they were not that attentive. Faite was still supporting the tired and strained Kirimi, so she too didn't notice anything. Kirimi lay on the couch of the large room with Kaine and Faite monitoring her condition. Len sat down in a rather small chair compared to the others, clutching onto her sword and her eyes darting from one part of the room to another. Ever suspicious of everything and anything. It wasn't like Len to do such things, but then again ever since that woman showed her powers, everyone has been feeling edge.

The doors to the room opened, and the woman stepped in, this time instead of a simple tunic and pants with a cloak, she wore a red single dress that clung loosely onto her shoulders. The dress hugged her body tightly, revealling more curves than most would, and revealing more skin than most dresses most too. Coupled with her stunning looks, the entire room was in awe, and they almost completely forgot the power she wields. But accompanying her, was another lady, almost equally as beautiful as her. Wearing a thin blue dress that most would describe as a swimsuit with some cloth hanging about. The new woman brushed her sky blue hair off her shoulders, and saw Leon giving her an extra long, hard stare, to which she winked at him. Sion managed to slap her brother before something in him went off like a bomb.

"Don't mind my companion. She's just mischievous."

The first woman said, taking a seat in the largest chair in the room. Her blue haired companion walked over to a bookshelf, where she proceeded to pick a book out and read it.

"She's taken a liking to reading these days. Uses most of her free time to read."

"It is because there are things that we take for granted, and fail to see that we lose sight of who we are, and what we are meant to be. Within these books hold untold stories, truths and lies of the past."

Her blue haired friend merely said, eyes still glued to her book. The first woman smiled curtly, before turning back to the group.

"I haven't introduced myself. I'm Satia. Also known as the 'story-teller' in this town."

She said, bowing her head slightly. That was when Sion and Leon were startled by that.

"That's it! That kid who took five gold from us. He told us to ask the 'story-teller' for more information."

Leon exclaimed rather loudly, enough to earn another hit from his sister. Satia smiled politely, and nodded her head.

"Yes, the kids do call me that from time to time. I've heard that there were a group of travelers asking around about 'Selika'. I assume it must be you folks."

Sora wasn't sure how to reply to that. Should he agree? Or should he keep quiet? OPBs and their killers were not the type to be easily spoken to. Satia did not stop to hear confirmation from the group as she proceeded.

"I can tell you a lot about the god-killer Selika. He started out as a young man, ambitious like most were at his age. He and his sister were orphans of a war, and were brought under the watchful eye of a church. The church of Raidos, the storm God of war."

* * *

During that time, the continent was split into many kingdoms, each vying for total domination. The church of Raidos was no different, using their faith as their reasons, they charged, conquering many lands in their 'holy war'. During that time, young Selika was trained to be a crusader for the church, a chosen holy warrior who would carry the strength of Raidos across the lands. However, during his battles, he came across a fair maiden by the name of Satia. With a beauty that no one can compare, and a heart so pure and kind that even the fiercest of beast would bow its head to her. Selika fell in love with Satia, and the other did the same. Some who saw them could say they were a perfect match for each other, young, beautiful and filled with passion. But fate would not be so kind. For reasons he could not understand, the church sought after her. Branding her as a heretic, the church of Raidos hunted her down. He helped her escape the clutches of the church, but he himself was captured.

It was then that he was told the truth. Satia was a goddess. One of the three astral goddesses who ruled the night sky. The middle sister, Astraea, Goddess of Justice. Her mission on the ground was to find her missing younger sister, and using him to help her search was her main goal for being close to him. The church of Raidos would have the resources to help with the search. Even with this truth, he did not waver in his love for her. He believed in her, but the church would not have it. There cannot be a Goddess who contradicted their beliefs in a one supreme God, and so they brainwashed Selika using dark magic, and set him loose against the one he loved. Astraea knew that the church would soon come after her, and she summoned to her aid the forces of the land that stood opposed to the church. But Selika, infused with the unholy powers of the church, single handedly charged into Astraea's keep, slaughtering all those who stood before him, before facing off against Astraea herself.

The two lovers fought each other for days without end. Neither willing to give up, yet Astraea felt that Selika was dying from the dark magic. The unholy magic was devouring his soul. Unwilling to let Selika die, she sacrificed herself, allowing Selika to pierce her with his sword, before casting her last spell to save his life. The flames of Astraea engulfed to two, and fused them into one. Selika's soul was given Astraea's body, and therefore a new life. Selika, the dark spell broken when he pierced Astraea, realized only too late what he had done, and could not forgive himself, nor the church. Reborn in the body of Astraea, his murderous rage carried him back to the church, allying himself with his former enemies. Within a single night, the great church of Raidos collapsed. With his rage gone, Selika slipped into a deep slumber. By then, the news of the 'God-slayer Selika' had spread long and far. The rise of many more kingdoms came veying the void that was left when the church of Raidos fell. Before Selika's great slumber, a great demon God, known as Haishella had approached Selika.

She had watched him in his torment, laying waste to all that had destroyed his love. He had lost everything, his sister, his lover, his friends, and his sanity. When the Church of Raidos fell, he had lost his own will to live, sealing his own soul within himself to escape the sorrow. Haishella used her magic, and took over his body, more specifically, taking over the body of a goddess. The power that flowed through the body was more than what Selika's soul could handle, it amplified his emotions, which resulted in his soul trying to save itself from self-destruction by sealing itself up. Haishella, taking over the body of a goddess, started her long and destructive campaign of conquest. Raising hordes of demons to answer her call for war, she razed kingdoms, destroyed towns, killed thousands. Yet it was all to end.

A second demon lord, known as Amdusias, one of the 72 pillars of Solomon, sworn rival to Haishella. Haishella, the demon God who longs for battle, against Amdusias, whose passion for music and arts had given her more than a single reason to hate the former. Amdusias called forth the remaining armies to battle against Haishella, and the battle between the two demon Gods went on for years, till finally, Haishella won. Amdusias fled to a mountain range, trying to escape from Haishella's clutches, but the demon God wouldn't give up that easily. Tracking Amdusias, Haishella stumbled upon an ancient artifact, left behind by the ancestors of the World. However, something went wrong. Both Haishella and Amdusias were stricken with pain wrought by some unknown powers within the mountain, activated by their presences.

On the verge of death, Selika awoke, and saved the two demon gods. Haishella was rejected from Selika's body, and Haishella knew at that moment that Selika was something more than a mere mortal who transcended the Godly realm by killing a Goddess. He had surpassed everything. Haishella took Amdusias and left Selika within the mountains. It would take a while for Selika to awake properly, and she knew she had much to train for. A hundred years after that, Selika finally awoke, but he had lost all memories of his former self. Haishella was there to greet him, and she bestowed upon him the knowledge of his past, but to heal his soul, and let it properly accommodate itself within the body of Astraea, he needed to seek the aid of the high Elves.

Haishella accompanied him to the land of the Elves, and met with Hakuginko, the female leader of the elves, who helped Selika despite much protest. Selika, being well known as a God-slayer, was wanted by every God and Goddess. Ancient God and Goddess wanted to kill him to avenge Astraea, present Gods cannot permit his existence, Demon gods wanted to get his power, and so Selika had no allies, but one, the Priestess of Water. A minor Goddess who stands neutral in all conflicts, aided Selika throughout most of his journey, and slowly, but surely, Selika started to gain more allies.

Starting with the Priestess of water's own retainers, a female Knight called Lekshumi, then to the Elves under Hakuginko. The amazon warrior tribe who had allied with Astraea before join Selika as well. The Nagas too joined under Selika as their leader had remembered Selika's kindness when he spared her kind during a supposed 'purge' of monsters. The great race of dragons followed him too, greatly disturbed by the erratic changes in the world. A great human kingdom called Raune had joined them after their sage had predicted a great disaster that only Selika could hope to solve. Selika was joined by many great warriors. Haishella and Amdusias joined him, with Haishella transforming into a sword for him to wield and to keep his soul intact. A young unnamed dragon warrior, also called hero of the sky, she had been known to be fierce and nearly unmatched in battle. A demon god called Naberius, also one of solomon's 72 demons, who guarded the souls of the underworld, joined Selika after he aided her in quelling an undead uprising.

Astraea's familiar, Pazumo joined as well. The spirit of a dead girl who wields a powerful cursed spear called Rita joined as well. The leader of the Nagas, Li-Kutina fought by Selika's side too, lending her expertise in strategies. Lekshumi, the retainer of the priestess of water joined, and finally the sage who predicted the disaster, Luna Clear, joined as well. This great force weathered many battles, and soon the true enemy was revealed. Distorted by evil and sins of the World, Astraea's sister was found. Twisted and mutated, covered with an aura of evil that no one could ever predict, Selika stepped forward, battling with all of his might.

Finally, the battle ended, with Selika victorious. The battle was over, though the war was not. Selika was still hounded down by many for what he is, though many still praise his name even till this day. He had killed ten Gods since he killed Astraea's sister, and new Kingdoms have flourished under the peace he brought. It is also said that each of the chosen warriors who fought by his side bore him a child to carry on his will and power.

* * *

"And that is the legend of Selika."

Satia ended, leaning back in her chair.

"Wait... you said that the Goddess called herself 'Satia'... are you-"

"There are many who hear the legends and decides to name their child after it. It is common to find at least five other Satia in this city alone. Of course, no one dares to call their children Selika, since it is too great an honour."

Satia quickly interrupted Seira.

"Hmm... I see... And... does anyone know where we might find the God-slayer?"

Sora wondered. Satia looked at Sora for a moment, before she smiled.

"Who knows. He goes where ever he wants to, does whatever he wants to. Of course, i did hear a rumour."

"And what might that be?"

"... That he is planning to invade the Western continent to challenge the God-killer there. Apparently some dispute has occurred between the three God-killers of Dorein, Himegol, and Ikuse."

Sora thought about what Satia had just told them. A war between three OPB killers could prove disastrous. The amount of energies emitted from their battle could cause a shift in magnetic forces in this sector. Magnetic storms, and runic explosions would be more common than space dust. This entire system could go boom if each of the OPB killers were as powerful as what the stories make Selika to be. The OPB killers had to be stopped at all cost. but what about Satia? She has the powers of an OPB killer. Could she be...

"... You said each of the warriors who fought by Selika in that battle bore him a child?"

Sora wondered.

"Yes. It is said that in this World, woman outnumber men ten to one. Men are considered quite.... valuable. It is common here for a man to have more than one wife. In the case of Heroes and Kings, it is natural for them to have at least five wives."

Leon's eyes lit up at that. Sora was just thankful that neither Stirn nor uncle Cliff were here to hear that. It would cause more than one problem, though that wasn't the issue right now.

"So... are you... a descendant of Selika?"

Sora finally asked the question. Satia looked at Sora, then turned to her blue haired companion, who was still reading books. Satia turned back to Sora, and smiled.

"Yes. I am. I am a descendant of Selika, and the sage Luna Clear. Unlike my distant relatives who came from the other warriors, my line is strong with magic."

Which could explain the tremendous force, but only to a certain amount. Sora knew that something was still off. A thought process entered his mind from Seira. While they shouldn't completely trust what she said, they should head to the Western continent of Himegol. Finding the OPB killer there should be easier. Usually descendants of OPBs and OPB killers are called Inheritors, and they usually do not have enough power to catch the interest of Providence, even if they do hold some power. If Selika is heading West, they should too. Sora agreed with Seira's thoughts about the matter. But this Satia woman still bothered him. There was something amiss. Sora had a strong feeling that this woman is the OPB killer they have been looking for. But everything points to Selika being a male. This is clearly a woman.

"... Alright, we shall head to the Western Continent of Himegol."

* * *

The group left, and Satia leaned back in the chair, sipping onto a goblet of wine.

"... You're still fond of using that name, aren't you?"

The blue haired woman said, finally putting down her book.

"..... Astraea- no.... Satia gave me this body so that i may live. That is one thing i can never forget. This is the sin that i must carry for all eternity. A guilt that i cannot lift."

"Hmph, being all sentimental doesn't suit me. So? What are your plans? Are you really planning to invade the land of Demon God Emilio? Selika?"

Selika smirked, placing the goblet down onto the table and standing up from the chair.

"Of course. Emilio has a lot of things to answer for. Though i know he isn't responsible for it, i think this would be a good opportunity for us to show those younger two who is really in charge, don't you think? Haishella?"

The blue haired demon God smiled, before she burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha! Selika! You sure never fail to amuse me! Yes, i think it is time to show those two God killers that they are still beneath us. Still, what about that group of travelers from the stars?"

Selika pulled onto a rope, and shortly after, a group of maids entered the room, carrying his armour and weapon, helping him to get dressed.

"You should know too, Haishella, since you resided in Satia's body once. That this land has already gone through two civilizations before ours. If we let them affect our land, then-"

"A third great disaster may occur.... technology really is frightening. I still cannot believe after all of this time that most of the Gods that reside on this world were merely artificially created by the previous civilization... That i too am not as powerful as a real God."

Selika, now fully dressed in armour, stepped up to Haishella, cupping her cheek.

"Haishella, it isn't like you to think of such things. True, that you were created by humans, true that your power cannot stand up to the might like Astraea's, but... you are you, and you have stuck by my side for millenniums. You are irreplaceable to me."

Haishella held onto Selika's hand, feeling his warmth and smiling softly at it.

"I have changed much too... I may have lost sight of who i was before through the years, and became soft... but it isn't always a bad thing. Let us go, Selika."

Selika smiled, and with a snap of a finger, images of certain people appeared around him, communicating his words to them.

"Yes... It is time to summon our forces once more. The high Elves of Torasmeiru, led Hakuginko. The Naga of Niakuru led by Li-Kutina. The dragon race, led by the hero of the sky, Selisha. The demon Gods of solomon, Amdusias and Naberius. The amazons of Kuraina, led by their new leader Ekatika. The Knighthood of Rewinia under the Priestess of Water, led by my great grand daughter, Rekshina. And finally this Kingdom. Kingdom of Raune, who was supposed to be led by my other great grand daughter.... Runare.... i'll definitely find out who killed you... and avenge you."

* * *

A/N: For those who actually DO know the game i'm basing this off from, the history is very loosely based, and i twisted lots of things around. And i only finished VERITA last week, so i know that a lot of stuff are wrong and contradicting... still, bear with me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Drums of War**

The group wasted no time, heading out of Halzarel and towards where the two squads of infantry were posted by Kirimi's orders. The soldiers were all ready for the group's arrival, taking Kirimi straight off their hands, and to a medical bed. Sora and Seira were given status reports as the rest of the group were given places to rest in the main pre-fabricated temporary barracks.

"While we cannot trust what Satia said is completely true, and personally, i find her story a little off to say the least."

Sora began, and some nodded in agreement.

"We cannot deny that a clash of such powers is dangerous to this World, and as representatives of the Eternal Sphere, we cannot allow it."

"But wouldn't that be violating the Under-develop planet pact?"

Kaine asked. Seira nodded and stepped up to answer.

"Yes, but there are exceptions. We can invoke the Twenty-ninth clause of the pact, which stats that if an event were to occur on such a planet that would result in a catastrophe that could disrupt an entire system, or severely endanger the lives of those on other planets, then we have the right to step in to intervene. Of course, all under the guise of us being locals to this planet. There would be a mountain of paper work for us to fill out after this, but since it is an emergency, i think Sora wouldn't mind. Right?"

Seira turned to her twin, who suddenly lost colour in his face at the mere mention of 'paper-work'.

"A lot of what that bitch said before doesn't add up."

Len said from her usual spot during group meetings, leaning against the wall, arms crossed and looking rather pissed. Well, this time probably because she met someone who was so powerful that even though she wanted to fight that person so badly, she couldn't even breathe, let alone move.

"True... If Selika has the body of a Goddess, how would he be able to have children with other women?"

Leon wondered, earning a whack from his sister. Sion sighed, leaving her unconscious brother sprawled on the floor.

"While what my brother said is true, he didn't have to say it that way. No matter what they say, i would say that that Satia person is Selika."

Kaine pondered on what Sion and Leon said. He thought back on what was said during the story.

"Then that would make that blue haired companion of his..."

"Demon God Haishella."

A voice made the group turn. Pepitta came waltzing in, carrying bags of what appeared to be clothing.

"Pepitta, where did you-"

"Shopping, and information gathering."

The famous singer said, dumping her things onto an unfortunately private who was standing close by. She was chewing on some sort of sweet she got from the town as she started to tell them what she found out.

"The God Slayer to the West is Demon God Emilio, the newest of the three OPB killers on this planet. He rose to power only ten years ago. Formerly powerful enough to challenge the OPB on his continent, he was sealed up by warriors of the said OPB. He managed to escape, sealing his soul in a young boy, and slowly regain his strength. At that point in time, the Southern continent of Raizol, ruled by a single Kingdom and the only place without a OPB killer, sent soldiers to take over the Western Continent. The Western continent is known to be the most wealthiest in resources on this planet, not to mention the most beautiful.

The creatures of the Western continent, humans and beasts, tried to fend off the invaders but to no avail, and the Demon God Emilio stood up to fight, but standing before him was the OPB of Himegol, the Goddess who condemned him many years ago. Apparently the OPB had conspired with the Southern continent to wipe out all creatures on that continent for unknown reasons. Demon God Emilio had gathered enough power by then, and killed the OPB, also destroying the armies of Raizol in the process. Now, he rules over Himegol being hailed as a 'hero'."

Pepitta finished her story, took a drink from the same private she dumped her things with, and drank it in one go. Apparently she had ordered him to get her a drink.

"Oh yes, like Selika of this continent, Demon God Emilio has multiple wives. Apparently, he is quite the lewd one. And it is common thought here to think that powerful beings can get additional power by having more spouses."

"I wonder who came up with that dumb thought."

Seira turned her eye to Sora, who was apparently deep in thought, and since Seira could sense what Sora was thinking, she immediately punched her twin in the gut, forcing the admiral to keel over.

"Stop thinking such thoughts. It is disturbing."

"Then why did you hit me!?"

"Because you needed to clean your thoughts."

Seira sighed, stepping a boot on her twin, pushing him flat on his face onto the floor.

"So, Pepitta, what else did you find out? The Northern Continent? The Southern continent? And about Selika and Satia?"

Pepitta looked at Seira, who was still stepping on her twin brother, with a rather amused look.

"You really take after your mother, though it could also be said you take after your grandmother. Both rather.... sadistically physical. Yes, about the Southern Continent, no OPB or OPB killers in that place. Though they are officially under the banner of one 'Holy Empire', they serve a false God. They haven't made a move since Emilio destroyed their armies ten years ago. They've been a little 'too' quiet, if you get what i mean. The Northern continent, Dorein. A harsh winter place with lots of snow and not much to see. The God killer is a woman. And not just any woman. She's a vampire Lord."

Now that got everyone's attention.

"She was mortally wounded by a holy warrior once, and was about to die when she was saved by a saint. The saint and her fell in love, but no one would admit their love, after all they were-"

"Human and vampire?"

Kaine wondered.

"No... though that was a problem as well... The main problem was, they were both females."

"..... WHAT?!"

Everyone was staring at Pepitta like she had the most unbelievable face they had ever seen.

"Lesbians aren't uncommon to us, but this isn't like other developed planets. Female eloping with another female was forbidden, not to mention looked down upon. Don't forget that this planet has a larger population of woman compared to men. It was decreed to allow the population of each continent to be maintained at a certain level that only men and women couples were allowed, and also each male was entitled to more than one wife. Of course, Women do control a lot of things on this planet, so i guess it's a fair trade. Back to this vampire. The saint was killed and her soul was sealed up, never allowing the two lovers to be together.

The vampire lord was furious, so she raised an unholy army, conquering different kingdoms, taking their subjects as her own and rebelled against the OPB of her land in order to change the basic law of love. She succeeded, though she was gravely injured in battle, and had to rest for years before she awoke about ten years ago, when Emilio rose to power. the vampire lord's name is Asheraxia. She commands the humans, Elves, half elves, and dark elves on Dorein."

".... This planet is just weird."

Len muttered, leaving the barracks, probably to vent her stress and anger at some tree.

"This continent, Ikuse, has humans, high elves, Naga, dragons and a large number of demon Gods. Himegol has humans, wood elves, seraphs, featherfolks, and Lamia. Raizol only has humans, while Dorein only has humans, true elves, half elves and dark elves. These are only counting the races that have significant advances in their civilizations, not counting creatures and minor tribes. Also not including half breeds."

"That's a lot of races you're not including."

Sion stated.

"It doesn't matter. But Selika has moved his forces, heading to Himegol. The same could be said for Demon God Emilio and Vampire Lord Asheraxia. All three OPB killers have started to move."

"Then we must move out immediately. This is one battle we cannot allow to begin. Captain."

Seira turned to one of her men standing by the side, who snapped to attention at the call.

"Admiral."

"Get the men to pack up. We're going to take the ships. Tell the fleet to deploy all land forces, and low orbit gunships. Get the fleet to ready their orbital weapons as well. We may need to glass this planet if need be."

"Yes ma'am."

The captain saluted, then immediately left to relay the orders.

"Isn't that a little much?"

Pepitta wondered, and Seira closed her eyes, balling her fist to show her frustration.

"I don't want to do it, but if need be, i will become the devil. That is the duty of an admiral of the Eternal Sphere."

* * *

**Himegol Capital, Gatari**

She ran through as quickly as her legs could carry her, straight through the grand halls, all the way down to the grand chamber. She didn't bother to wait for the guards to open the door for her as she barged her way in, startling some of the guest inside. The old men who were kneeling on the velvet red carpet at the foot of the steps to the grand throne turned to see her, and was surprised when she simply dashed up to the steps, and went down on one knee before the person sitting on the throne.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion my lord, but God-slayer Selika Silwin has started to move his forces."

He rubbed his chin, thinking of what he should do. But before that.

"Tiofania. Did you not notice that i was in the middle of a meeting?"

She swallowed hard at that. She did not really think she had the time to wait for him to be finished with such business to tell him this dire news. Even with her eyes to the ground, she could hear him get up from his seat, and step closer to her. Her heart beat faster with each step he took closer to her. Was he angry? How would she be punished? Fears gripped her as thoughts kept running through her mind. All the way till his boots came into her direct view.

"Tiofania... you did disturb this meeting that could possibly help us with our relations with Dorein... but i guess you were worried."

She felt his hand lift her chin up to see him. Though young in looks, she knew he was all powerful and great. Rising up to power merely ten years ago, she couldn't believe up till now that he would really gain so much power this fast. But looking at him, she could not help but blush. He smiled, and kissed her gently.

"It's okay. You did nothing wrong. This meeting merely delayed the inevitable."

He held her head to his chest, and he glared at the old men who still knelt there. In an instant, the four old men, emissaries from Dorei, exploded into fountains of blood. He held her head to his chest till the guards dragged the bodies away. Once done, he looked at her in the face, finger touching her eyepatch that covered her right eye.

"You used 'that' again, didn't you? To see that Selika had moved his forces."

"But-"

"I told you before. I gave you that 'eye' and power to protect our family and our children."

"Isn't this also considered protecting them?"

She protested, to which he smiled.

"Yes, it can be. But don't use it too often. The strain on your body is very heavy, and i don't think you can handle one too many uses per day."

"I'm a wood elf, my lord. I can handle magic like this better than others!"

"I know... but the other girls worry for you... i worry for you."

Her face blushed deeply at his words. He looked at the guards, who snapped to attention at his gaze.

"Summon my armies. Summon the wood Elves of Tyranias, the holy Seraphs of Winslore, the winged valkyries of Severence, the soldiers of the Lamia and the kingdoms of my land. We shall march head on into battle to fight Selika Silwin."

The soldiers all yelled a war cry, heading off to announce their lord's intentions. As for him, he left the hall with Tiofania following behind him. He walked all the way to a separate chambers, with grand wooden doors decorated with pictures of flowers. The guards who stood by the door saluted as he approached.

"I... will go see our child."

Tiofanaia bowed and left his side. This room had become a place that most of the other girls wanted to avoid. Even standing outside, he could sense the immense amount of sorrow and pain coming from within. He paused for a moment, before pushing the doors open and stepping inside. Sitting upright on the bed, staring blankly out of the window, the beautiful woman did not even acknowledge his entrance into the room. Her hair had grown long and unkept. He sat down on the bed next to her, brushing her bangs away from her lifeless eyes. Those eyes that once held so much fire, so much live, so much passion. Now dead. He could not bear to see her like this. This was... too much, even for him.

"Wait for me, Sylphine, i will avenge our child."

* * *

**On the edge of the shores of Dorein**

The cooling air of the sea breeze played about with her long hair, possibly tangling up the strands. but she paid it no mind. It wasn't like it mattered much to her anyway. Watching the sun go down was always a beautiful sight for her. Ever since she killed that worthless God, she had gained the power to stand within the light. But with such power came the forbidden fruit of knowledge. She knew things now that would have been better off not known. One of her generals stepped up from behind. She didn't need to see the face, she knew this person by mere presence.

"My lord, the armies have gathered. Should we proceed?"

The female general asked. Her army consisted of nearly ninety percent females, since Dorein had under gone a dramatic change ever since she came to power. The balance of men to women became unstable, causing a dramatic drop in men. Though she had no interest in men, she knew what it meant if the balance was off. She had to fix it, but no matter what she did, the drop in men was still prevalent. She could still use her magic to support a few Kingdoms, but her entire continent could not be saved by her magic alone. She needed to do something, fast. And then 'that' event had to occur. Whilst her anger did flare up, it did not show on her face, or her actions. She was tired. Tired of all of this anger, hatred, this killing. The blood she had shed to get what she desired was not worth the price.

"Set sail the ships. While i would rather not do this.... 'they' have left me no choice."

The general bowed, and left. She continued to look at the setting sun, and her lips formed a sad smile as she thought back to a certain someone.

"... Teresa... forgive me."

* * *

**On-board Raven Class Gunship, the 'Salvo'**

Seira gazed outside of the ship, holding onto her beret to her head as the winds from outside the gunship threatened to blow it off. Seira, Sora, and Kirimi had changed back into their admiral uniforms, while the others changed into their assault gear. Kirimi had seemed to have gotten better, but as a precaution, Sora had warned her not to engage any enemies. She would command the land forces from the safety of the gunships. Seira tapped onto her earpiece, connecting her to the pilot.

"What's our position?"

_'"About mid-way, ma'am."'_

"Alright, keep me posted."

Seira tapped her earpiece again to change it's frequency.

"Sora? How are things on your end?"

_'"Not too bad. Troops seem a little on edge."'_

Sora replied, though his voice was clear, probably meaning he wasn't out on the gun deck, like she was, and probably somewhere inside the gunship where wind cannot interfere.

"Can't blame them. They're going to witness a fight between three OPB killers. This isn't a high priority critical emergency alert anymore. OPB killers are harder than OPBs, and so we can expect a lot of power to surge."

_'"Yeah, no kidding- oh, one of the new guys just pissed himself. Great... even before halfway and he's got a soiled pair of pants."'_

"I already have three guys here who have wet pants. Don't complain about-"

Seira suddenly stopped as sudden movement below caught her eye. It was a small thing at first, but it started to grow larger and larger. And at an alarming rate as well. Something was rising out of the ocean.

"Sora... are you seeing this?"

_'"... Unfortunately, yes."'_

Seira could not believe her eyes. The thing coming out from the ocean was large, too large. With brick like walls, large towers, this was starting to look like-

_'"Hey! Are you faggots seeing what i think i'm freaking seeing?!"'_

Len's voice shouted through the radio.

"... Yes, Len... though i don't think i can believe it."

_'"It's a city... A city is coming out from the ocean."'_

Kirimi said what Seira was trying to deny. Seira shook her head, trying to reorganize her thoughts.

"This isn't right.... why would this city come out from the ocean just like that? I mean... wait.... I see movement from the horizon.... Is that..."

_'"Holy crap. It's the army of Himegol."'_

And Sora was right. Looking on the screen that zoomed in, thousands, no, millions or flying seraphs and armoured featherfolk were flying above hordes of ships.

_'"Admiral, activity to the North."'_

"On screen."

Another screen appeared, and more ships were visible, coming in from the North.

_'"The army of Dorein has come... Looks like Selika's forces are also here."'_

Sora muttered. A new screen appeared, showing Seira that behind them, more ships, and even dragons were coming in from behind.

_'"We were too late."'_

Kirimi muttered. Seira did not want to believe this. Was all they were trying to do all for naught? Was this battle going to take place no matter what? This city, did it raise up from the sea in anticipation for this? There had to be something about all of this.

_'"Want to find out?"'_

Sora asked.

"... Of course. Pilot, keep a high altitude. Once the three armies have reached the city, we will land behind them."

_"Take them out from behind, and when they aren't looking?"'_

The pilot asked. Not exactly the most honorable way for fighting, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Exactly."

_'"... Yes ma'am. This is Raven Class Gunship, Salvo, all gunships, you heard the lady. Let's take it to the skies."'_


	14. Chapter 14

**Of Blood and Stone**

Selika looked up into the sky at the foreign ships that started to fly higher, away from the city of the sea, before they shimmered away. He smiled at that. He knew what they were planning, and he would be ready for them.

"My lord, we have reached."

A voice called from behind. He turned around and smiled at the woman who stood there in full armour.

"Rekshina, you look just like Lekshumi."

"Thank you, my lord. I'm sure great grandmother would be happy to hear that."

Rekshina answered back in a monotonous manner. Selika sighed, shaking his head. Just like Lekshumi, ever the stoic one. He placed a hand on her head, and kissed her cheek gently, making her falter, and slightly red.

"My-my lord?"

"I am your great grand father, Lekshumi, not your lord. Always remember that."

"... Yes, great grand father."

Selika smiled at that, and nodded his head.

"Good. Now, we should proceed with caution. This is the sacred city of Dir Lifyna."

"Or also called the 'two corridors' in our old tongue."

A slender green haired elf walked up to Selika. Her age was quite apparent, even for an elf. Rekshina bowed in her presence and backed away.

"Hakuginko. You still look well. How is our daughter?"

"Our grand daughter was just born, and you couldn't make it to see the joyous event... and you call yourself a father?"

The elder elf raised an eyebrow while Selika simply tried to laugh it off weakily.

"Ah, well, you know... er..."

"He wasn't there at our son's naming ceremony either. And among the dragon race, it was an important event!"

A thunderous voice came from above. Looking up, Selika saw the dark leather wings of another woman covering the sun as she descended.

"Se-Selisha...."

Selika felt his luck running out. The dragon race woman had a temper that few could match, even in her age, though she was younger than Hakuginko.

"I was given my name by the elders who took it from your name... i thought it would mean something to you, but apparently you do not really care for your families, do you?"

Selisha eyed Selika, who was retreating back. This was looking bad.

"You always did like Luna Clear's line better anyway."

Haishella muttered.

"Ah! Haishella! good timing! Let's go!"

Without waiting, Selika lept over the side of the ship, joining in the charge with his army, who were charging off the docked ships. The women, left on the ship, just sighed, shaking their heads.

"A great fighter and leader, but terrible parent."

Selisha said, before taking to the skies to join her dragon breathern.

"... I will look after the rear troops. Rekshina, Selika ran off without his personal army again. Get them ready and send them after him."

Rekshina bowed as Hakuginko left, the latter muttering something about 'i'll get him after this'.

* * *

The sacred city of Dir Lifyna. If ever possible, she didn't want to come back here. Her troops got off their ships and immediately got into formation. Among the three god killers, she was the only one who didn't have aerial capabilities for her army. Strategy was the key for her soldiers. Her eyes narrowed at the city as her soldiers began their march into the city. She swept her cloak aside, turning to her generals who stood by her side.

"Tania, i leave the troops to you and your girls. Do not actively engage the enemy. Try as much as you can to keep our forces alive and intact. Can you take care of this?"

"As you command, my lord."

"Good. The rest of you, follow me."

The vampire lord, Asheraxia Alcred, headed towards a seperate entrance, followed by her own personal group. She made her way through the dark corridor, taking constant turns without pause or hesitation. She had been here once, and it was something she didn't want to remember. But she suddenly stopped when she sensed movements.

".... Draw your weapons."

She silently said, drawing her sword. Her guards and generals drew their swords as well. From the shadows, the sounds of approach could be heard. Squish, slosh, splat. The girls had some scent of fear on them, she could tell that much. But they still held their ground. They were all trained personally by her. They would not show their fear even if their lives were threatened. And soon, their enemy reared its ugly face, if it had any. With their transparent bodies, slimes crept closer to the group.

"Do not fear them. Stick close, and do not attack them alone."

Asheraxia commanded, though the girls did not need to be told that. They were trained to be like that. Asheraxia raised her sword, and sliced through the first slime, and it exploded into a ball of black flames. Asheraxia raised her left hand, and black flames erupted from her hand. She pointed her flaming hand to the next slime, and it too exploded into black flames. Her guards did as they were told, attacking the slimes in pairs or groups.

"This is taking too much time."

Asheraxia raised her sword, pointing it down to the ground. With one burst of strength and magic, she stabbed the ground with her sword. Lines of black flames shot out like cracks from the point where her sword pierced the ground, reaching out far and wide like roots of a tree. Where the line touched a slime, it shot out black flames, engulfing its enemy. None of her guards were affected however, and to Asheraxia, having such control of her magic was crucial, though slightly taxing. She pulled her sword out from the ground when all of the slimes were taken care of, and sheathed her sword.

"Let's continue on."

Asheraxia walked on, leading her group onwards. The walls of the ancient city were damp, and had a sense of watching the group's every move. It didn't matter how many times she came here. She still couldn't get use to the feeling. More like, she hated this feeling. The group entered a large chamber, filled with intricate murals and designs on the walls. Each depicting a different scene of some sort of war. While her guards were distracted by the murals, she continued to walk forward. Towards the two large stone statues of armoured warriors that stood by a pair of large wooden doors.

"Ah! My lord!"

One of her generals noticed that their leader had walked on without them and tried to catch up, but a sudden erection of a barrier between them stopped her in her tracks. Asheraxia knew this would happen.

"Don't try to break the barrier. From here on out, i must go on my own."

Asheraxia continued on, and stopped before the large statues. These tower above her, nearly touching the ceiling of this large chamber that resembled a cavern. She took in a deep breath.

"System administrative personal, 0076348G, request system power-up."

At first nothing responded her words, but the floor beneath her feet suddenly lit up. The entire chamber suddenly lit up with lights coming from the floor, walls and ceiling.

_'"System administrative ID confirmed. Request processing. Scanning personnel for additional identification."'_

The two statues suddenly started to move, turning to face her. From their stone eyes, lines of light shot out, hitting her though it didn't feel like anything at all. The light beams travelled up and down her, like observing her.

_'"Personnel conflicts with data. Requesting additional information."'_

One of the statues bent down, reaching out its hand to her. She really hated these things. Without moving at all, she shot out a blast of magic, knocking the hand, and the statue away, blasting it into tiny bits of rock.

"Don't touch me."

_'"Hostile actions against the system will result in immediate eradication."'_

She brushed her hair aside, feeling slightly irritated by this.

"System override. Re-route identification process, code 7763AZAF. Process program code 7-0-8-2-4-4. Access code 4452125INFINITE."

The room suddenly went quiet, except for a low hum that echoed throughout the chamber. Then the same metallic cool voice spoke.

_'"System override complete. Access granted."'_

She heaved a sigh of relief.

"Disable security measures in this sector only."

_'"Disabling all security devices in central sector D-3."'_

"Open the door."

_'"Opening."'_

The metal doors before her started to open, the sound of rusting gears turning deafened the others in the chamber, but she did not care. The sounds stopped once the doors were wide open. She turned to her personal guards, who were all still uncovering their ears and checking their own hearing.

"Do not follow me in. Secure this chamber and if i do not come out after an hour, leave without me."

"My lord! We-"

"That is an order."

She shot a glare at the general who dared to speak up. Sure, her people were worried about her, but this wasn't something they could comprehend. What lay beyond these doors was a world that they would never believe, and when they see it, they may end up dead. She didn't want any more of her people to die. Not when so many already have. Without another word, she turned and entered through the doors. Asheraxia walked through the dark corridor, her mind blank as her legs guided her by instincts. An instinct that would normally tell her to turn the other way and run out. Fear, such a foul stench that filled the air. The stench of blood filled the air. She could smell it.

Her heterochromic eyes narrowed at the senses she was receiving. The long narrow dark corridor was almost never ending, and yet she continued to push herself on. At the end, she knew that the answer she sought would be there. She continued to walk all the way, till she could see a single flame lit candle sitting on the floor. She walked towards it, and suddenly found herself out of the corridor, and in a circular chamber. With a dome shaped roof that had a small window at its peak, showing a single bright star. But she also knew she wasn't alone. Her eyes weren't looking at the grand designs on the walls, or the bright star above them. What she was looking at, was the scene before her, where a fiery red haired beautiful person, holding a grand sword at the throat of a young boy. She knew the two of these merely by presence. And the two knew her as well.

"... Well, isn't this a nice surprise."


	15. Chapter 15

**Soldiers of Gods**

**Onboard Raven Class Gunship, Blaze**

The gunship hovered above the war-zone, where races clashed. Dragons against Seraphs and featherfolk. Wood elves against true elves who were also against high elves. Naga against Lamia. Human against human. It was carnage. Sora could not really bare to look at the scene, but this was war. Something he was used to as an admiral. Death and destruction. The footsteps of his father which he had taken was one covered with blood.

"... The Southern part of the city looks clear. We can land in that large plaza. Seira, Kirimi, it's time."

_'"Understood. We shall deploy the main troops along the Southern part of the city. Shock troop divisions shall be deployed behind the enemy's main armies, and all forces shall push the enemies into the centre."'_

Kirimi ordered. Sora did not even bother to listen to the confirmations that came flying in. He knew what Kirimi was trying to do. Force the armies of the OPB killers into one confined place, and blast it with an orbital gun. Wiping out everything in that one place. With the firing of at least twelve orbital guns from just his fleet, even an OPB wouldn't survive.

_'"Sion and Leon will be deployed behind the forces of Emilio from Himegol. Len and Kaine will lead the forces behind the army of Selika from Ikuse. Sora and Seira will take the-"'_

"We will deploy with the main troops."

Sora cut Kirimi off in mid-sentence.

_'"... Sora? But the forces from Dorein are-"'_

"There isn't a need to push them in. The blast will will reach them."

_'"But-"'_

"I said there isn't a need to."

Kirimi stayed silent over the radio for the moment.

_'".... Fine. You and Seira will go in with the main troops. All ships, fast deployment. You have your orders, now go."'_

Sora did not want this to even go down. But it had to be done. The gunship dipped down, starting its descent down towards the Southern part of the city. Even in the night, the cries of battle and flames of war were still as clear as day.

_'"Sir! Touchdown in five!"'_

The pilot notified him, but he could already see the ground approaching. The gunships that already landed, were deploying their troops. Landing ships landed behind the gunships when the area was clear, deploying more troops, light assault vehichles and teleport rings. A couple of rings were already set up, and tanks and walkers were teleported onto the field. The Blaze touched down with a bump, and the doors on the side of the gunship swung open. Sora Leingod stepped out of the ships, as well as twenty other men. Gunships were normally suppose to drop their troops before the landing ships, in order to create a safe landing spot for the landing ships to safely deploy their cargo, though the gunships that the admirals use always seem to land later. The Salvo touched down not too far from his position, and Seira jumped out of her ship. She saw Sora, and walked up to him.

"You're still soft, Sora."

Was all she said when they met.

"... I know."

Seira turned to look at the battlefield. A group of enemies noticed their arrival and charged at them. The troops of the Eternal Sphere had formed up, and fired their weapons all at the same time. The enemy did not even stand a chance. Humans, elves, winged warriors, all fell where they stood. The terrible power that technology can bring. The reason why the under-developed planet act was formed. Sora narrowed his eyes at the bloodshed. Sora started to walk towards the front line, Seira following in step.

"Sergeant!"

Sora shouted, and one of the men on the front lines turned in response.

"Sir?"

"A gun. Now."

"Yes sir!"

The sergeant wasted no time, tossing a rifle to Sora, who caught it, checked its settings, and walked past the front lines. Seira nodded to the same sergeant, who tossed her a rifle as well.

"I want a full formation sweep! This isn't a drill! move it!"

Seira shouted at the troops as she walked to catch up with her twin. Sora had an angry look on him, and she knew why.

"Sora..."

"Don't stop me Seira. I will settle this with my own hands."

"I wasn't planning to."

The army of the Eternal Sphere spear headed their way through the Southern part of the city, heading North into the heart of the giant city. It was a massacre, with their enemies unable to even stand the onslaught of laser fire, railgun shots, and hot lead. There were users of primitive symbology amongst the enemy, but the Eternal Sphere had technology that utilized advance forms of symbology, and they had their own users as well. Within five minutes, the army had already secured a path to the central building within the heart of the city. The tallest structure in the entire city, with a dome structure at the top. They had seen it from the air, and apparently some sort of barrier was formed around it to prevent direct descent into the building. The twin admirals walked into the central building with a squad of soldiers, stepping into a giant hall with intricate pictures and designs. But they weren't here to look at those.

"... Let's go."

* * *

Swinging her sword high, she tried to reach her opponent, but her opponent has wings, being able to fly high into the sky.

"Tch! COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT FAIRLY YOU DING BAT!"

"YOU ARE YOU CALLING A DING BAT?!"

The woman with wings shouted back, but did not lower her altitude. Len Nox was feeling a slight irritation growing within her. While the troops who landed with her were battling the others, she had sensed powerful enemies, and sure enough, he came across the leaders. Leader of the dragon flight, leader of the high elves, leader of the naga, and leader of the humans.

"Nee-san!"

Kaine shouted, just in time as a sword appeared above her, and swung down. Len dodged the blow in time, rolling to side. The leader of the humans, a woman in blood red armour and golden hair. Her twin sword technique was something that Len did not like to fight against.

"Dammit! Two against one..."

Len cursed getting to her feet.

"What, you're getting tired already? Think it's unfair? You're still so young, so i guess frustration and impatience is part of your nature."

The flying one gloated, making Len's anger peak. Her grip on her long katana tightened, her blood starting to boil.

"Young? Unfair? Tired?... heh heh heh.... you don't know me, bitch.... i was just thinking of how i've not been getting enough exercise that i can't even stand straight fighting just two weak worms.... but that changes now."

Len's sadistic smile made the twin swordswoman slightly unnerved, and even more so when Len's sword burst into flames. Len's symbology skills were limited to her sword moves, though quite recently she had been able to master the art of using symbology to boost her attack power, coating her weapons with special properties, and most important of all, boost herself. Len crouched low, and jumped.

Her jump was something that surprised everyone, as she flew up high, even higher than the winged warrior, and brought her sword crashing downwards. The winged warrior dodged the physical blow, but the pressure created from the swing made her lose her balance, falling straight down into the ground. Len's landing was not as graceful, creating a large crater when she impacted the ground. Even before the smoke could clear, Len sprung forward, sword poised to pierce the swordswoman, who could only react in time to block the blow barely.

"Good... good... GOOD!!! HAHAHA!!!"

Len's sadistic laughter echoed the battlefield, making the scene look like a slasher film. The swordswoman was starting to feel her feet buckle under the pressure, her feet sinking into the cracked ground. Len's force was unbearable, and Kaine knew well. Even he could no longer stop his sister.

"Get off Rekshina!"

A spear came flying towards Len, who jumped back, turning to the direction the spear came from. The winged warrior staggered out, covered with scratches and bruises.

"Tch, i guess i underestimated you, twerp."

The winged warrior snorted, drawing her sword.

"Oh? Still alive? Well.... good, otherwise, it would be boring."

Len covered her face with her hand, her sadistic eyes looking at her prey through her fingers.

"Entertain me, you worthless fools. Let's dance."

Len disappeared, re-appearing behind the winged warrior, sword ready to swing, but her blow was blocked by the swordswoman.

"VERY GOOD! NOW TRY THIS BITCH!"

Len's hysterical battle cries made Kaine turn away from his own fight, which wasn't a good idea. His senses kicked in, and he jumped clear just in time as the spot he was standing on only a mere second ago was now covered with arrows. The elven leader smiled in a playful manner, notching another arrow.

"You're sharp, boy. I'll give you that."

The elf drew the bow string, and released the arrow. Kaine raised his sword in time, cutting the arrow in half before it could reach him. A circular symbol appeared on the ground beneath him, and he jumped back, avoiding a lightning strike from above at that spot. If it was symbology, he wouldn't lose out. He had gain his strengths from his mother, and symbology was her specialty when it came to fighting. He raised his hand, and a symbol formed. Using his left hand to support his casting arm, he released his spell, eight fire dragons shot out from the symbol charging with fangs for their targets.

A barrier was formed to prevent his spell from getting through, but it wasn't the end. He triggered the delayed symbological spell on his left hand, adding additional power to his first spell. The dragons suddenly roared out, breaking the barrier and charging straight for the elf. But a sudden wall of water shot from the ground, destroying his spell. For such pure and strong magic to appear, Kaine was sort of impressed. The naga was apparently the one who did that. The elf and naga combination were somewhat dangerous. Both knew symbology, both defensive and offensive ones, not to mention they were also capable of dishing out quality physical attacks. Just like him. Well, this would be a long battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other end of the city, the battle was not too pleasant for the Lasbard siblings. The forces of Himegol, although being the newest to form, were made up of the most numerous in both numbers and types. The soldiers dropped down in the Western end behind the army of Himegol had the hardest time as they needed to switch their tactics often to suit the enemy.

"Captain! We're being ambushed from our right!"

A corporal ducked under an explosion from the mages of the enemy, who managed to form a pretty fast resistance. Sion gritted her teeth, feeling the explosions around her starting to irritate her.

"What of my brother?! Is that his position?"

"The Major is currently engaging what seems to be enemy leaders, here, a live feed from the scouts."

The corporal pressed a button on his arm console, and a small projection screen appeared, showing Leon Lasbard fighting three enemies at one time. A small devil girl, a taller devil woman, and a female knight. They were holding out well against Leon's barrage of weapons and symbology usage, and it was rare to find someone who could match against Leon Lasbard like that.

"Tch.... that useless brother. I'll go over to give him support. Make the men hold out. The main force will reach us soon."

"Yes ma'am!"

Sion fired a few rounds over the make-shift barricade she was using, before dashing across the street. She darted between the ancient stone structures, heading towards the compromised right flank. She swore, if she saw her brother losing, she would do more than lobe his head off, he would-

"WOAH!"

Sion ducked just in time as an arrow flew past her face, embedding itself in the wall. Sion turned and primed her gun. A second arrow flew from the shadows at her, but she fired her gun directly at the arrow, disintegrating it. She fired a few shots into the shadows, forcing her attacker to jump out into the light. A green haired elf, who had an eyepatch over her right eye. At least now Sion can see her opponent, all she needed to do was to-

"Holy crap!"

She ducked out of the way as the ground exploded. Symbology, and quite a strong one. Another woman stepped out of the shadows. Long violet coloured, and one particular thing about her, her ears were small feathered wings. A subhuman. While subhumans, humans who have descended from humans and another strong race, were not as strong normal races, they do, from time to time, show signs of incredible powers. Sion knew one such case is Kanai Koisk. A subhuman from a Seraph and a human. Though having slight defects, Kanai Koisk is considered one of the most powerful people in the Eternal Sphere.

"So you two are my opponents."

Sion muttered. The two woman who faced her did not say anything, but immediately started to attack. Sion ducked around their attacks, dodging them relatively easily. But there was something about that elf that bothered Sion. She was reading her movements. The elf was beginning to shoot at points where Sion would 'be' at, leaving Sion limited room to dodge. Sion drew her side arm, firing a couple of shots at the subhuman, who summoned a barrier to block the attacks, while more arrows from the elf came flying at Sion. Sion raised her barrier to block the arrows only in the nick of time.

But she isn't a strong symbology user when compared to others. She did have a special skill that only she had, but using it had its limits. She had no choice. These two were skilled enough to force her hand. Sion had never fought an OPB or OPB killer, but if the OPB killers had armies, she guessed the generals would have to be worth something. Sion felt her back against the wall. The elf notched another arrow, aiming this time for Sion's head. Sion reached her hand out to the side, and soon, she found what she was looking for. The elf fired the arrow, but Sion smiled.

**_"Shadow meld."_**

In an instant, Sion's entire body was swallowed by darkness crawling from her hand. The arrow went through her, hitting the wall. Sion had now disappeared in the shadows.

"What? Neri! Stay back!"

The elf warned. The subhuman looked around, puzzled and confused, till a shot rang out, and the subhuman fell flat onto the floor.

"Tch! I'm sorry Emilio... but i have to use this."

The elf lifted up her eyepatch, revealing a blood red eye. The eye was a magical eye, and it immediately spotted its prey. Sion knew her position was comprimised, but that didn't matter.

"Come to me, my bloodied shadow, **chikage**."

The darkness around Sion started to twist and turn, all of it being sucked into a single form. A sword slowly formed in Sion's hands, made up by swallowing all of the shadows and darkness in the area. Sion pointed the sword at the elf, and smiled.

"Swallow her."

Darkness exploded from the sword's tip, engulfing the elf in it. A scream echoed from the darkness, but Sion did not care. The shadows then dispersed, and the elf slumped onto the ground. Sion finally relaxed, heaving and panting to catch her breath. Her two opponents were down at last. Not dead though. Her parents had always told her that killing wasn't right. The subhuman was merely shot with a tranquilizer, while the elf was spared the horrors of Sion's true attack. Really, if ever Albel wanted to teach the kids new moves, he better make sure that they are all non-lethal.

* * *

He stepped on the stone head, giving it one more shot to make sure it wasn't moving anymore. Once he was sure, he kicked it away. Troublesome, and not to mention irritating. Some sort of magic was placed on the statues in this room, and they sprang to life, ambushing the group. He lost two good men before they managed to control the situation. Two men, that was unacceptable. Now how was he suppose to tell their families? That their sons were now flat because they got squashed by moving statues? This was too much. He couldn't pull out his symbology in time. If he had not hesitated, then all of this wouldn't have-

"Don't blame yourself, Sora. It wasn't your fault."

His twin sister patted his shoulder.

"... No, it is my fault, Seira. I could have done something, but i didn't."

"You knew you had to reserve your energy for the fight later. And these men, they all enlisted knowing the risk we take. They were all prepared, right men?"

Seira turned to the remaining soldiers, who all snapped to attention immediately.

"Ma'am! We're ready to throw our lives for yours at any moment! We live to protect our Worlds and the Eternal Sphere! Ma'am!"

Sounded like a rehearsed speech to him.

"It isn't, Sora. Stop being so negative."

"No."

"..... Are you trying to be funny?"

"It apparently doesn't work."

Sora muttered sarcastically as he sighed, slinging his gun over his arm and continuing to walk forward. The way in seemed to be problematic, and filled with traps. Five men were injured by the traps alone, and had to pull out. Now he lost two. He cannot go on with them.

"You guys will wait here. Seira and i will go on alone."

The soldiers looked slightly confused by his order, and tried to speak up, but Seira raised her hand, stopping them.

"The battle ahead is much harder than this. We are facing against OPB killers, beings capable of destroying OPBs. Admiral Leingod and i think it is best if you all stayed behind."

"But ma'am! We've faced OPB killers before! Remember Leckhart V? We all fought by your side during that battle-"

"These guys aren't the same!"

Sora shouted back, shocking the troops. Seira closed her eyes, stepping aside as her brother walked up to the soldier.

"These three OPB killers have far more power than that weakling on Leckhart V. These are powerful enough to destroy this planet if they want to. Class ten OPB killers, the most powerful kind. That is why a group like Providence is aiming for them, because they have enough power to access the mainframe of the Eternal Sphere. Do you get it now, Lieutenant?"

The soldier took in Sora's words slowly, then nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Good. You guys still have a job to do. Secure our route. If we need to get out, means we need to get out fast."

"Yes sir."

Sora nodded at his reply, and turned to Seira. His twin simply stood there, waiting for him. She didn't need to say anything more. With that, Sora and Seira walked on towards the door, pushing it open. But what waited for them at the other side, was not at all very pleasing. What they did not expect to find, was a room with three people standing inside, one person holding a sword to another. Satia stood there, this time with full armour garb, holding a sword at the throat of a boy dressed in light robes like that of a scholar. The last person was a young teenage looking woman, dressed in black armour. She had long pure snow white hair that seemed to radiate it's own light, and she had mis-matched coloured eyes. One blue one green. All three looked at the twins when they entered.

"Oh? What a surprise to see you here, Sora, Seira."

Satia smiled. The young boy looked slightly puzzled at the current situation while the woman simply stood there, emotionless, and more or less uncaring.

"H-hey! You two! Help me! This mad woman is going to kill me!"

The young boy tried to wave at Sora and Seira, but the twins knew what they had to do. Sora brought up his arm, summoning his swords that hovered around him. He grabbed two of them, drawing them while the rest still hovered about him. Seira raised her hand skyward, and 'pulled' out a long spear from the air, as though there was a portal above her head. The twins readied their weapons, pointing it at all three opponents in the room.

"Wha-what are you two doing? I'm not an enemy-"

"Shut up."

Sora pointed his sword at the boy, and one of the hovering swords tilted, and flew straight at the boy. The sword met with a giant barrier, disintegrating it.

"You're the OPB killer known as Demon God Emilio. Satia is OPB killer, Selika. That woman must be OPB killer Asheraxia. I am admiral Sora Leingod of the Eternal Sphere military. Under the jurisdiction of the Out-of-Place-Beings act, clause VII section II, i hereby place you three under arrest, and separated. Failure to comply will result in immediate physical force."

Sora pulled out a screen, displaying the clause from which he read from. Three other screens appeared, showing each of the OPB killers' statistic. Selika lifted the sword from Emilio, sheathing it into its scabbard.

"So you guys knew from the beginning."

Selika placed his arms on his hips, looking at Sora.

"We had a little tip from a friend of our parents. Besides, it is impossible for you to have a presence like that and still expect people to think you're ordinary."

"Quite true. But you two are the same, aren't you?"

Sora's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he calmed his nerves quickly.

"True. We are the same. And if you understand, then you will come with us quietly-"

"The three of us have come here tonight for one reason, children of the stars, to find answers."

Selika cut Sora off with a burst of aura. Emilio sniggered at Sora who had to retreat a few steps back. Selika wasn't a normal OPB. Possibly the strongest in this room. Sora and Seira had to watch their moves carefully. Selika turned to Emilio and Asheraxia.

"While it is normal for the three of us to fight upon sight, we all agree that there must be something done about this situation."

Selika began.

"Exactly. Too much has been lost, too much for us to ignore."

Emilio muttered, looking up at the stars. Asheraxia still remained silent, but everyone could tell she agreed as well.

"What is it that you three are talking about?"

Seira asked.

".... Each of us has recently lost a loved one. Immediate clues point that the one responsible is one other in this room. But... we all know that it is the work of another. We aren't blind fools. Each of us has lived for over a century."

"You lived for two millenias."

Emilio gloated. Selika did not bother to reply to that.

"Tonight, we have gathered to draw out the true perpetrator. When they see that our armies are fighting against each other, they will reveal their true selves to us. Of course, that was the plan, till you guys showed up."

Selika turned to Sora, whose grip on his sword tightened.

"Well, it doesn't matter. They will still show themselves. After all, this is a rare opportunity to get us all. They need us to enter the mainframe or else all of this would be for naught."

"You guys... knew? About everything?"

Seira wondered. She knew that OPB killers would inherit the abilities of the OPBs they killed, but.... knowledge beyond that?

"About the Eternal Sphere, about Providence... about your parents."

Selika pointed to a stone block that was resting near the wall. It suddenly glowed, and a low hum emitted from it. The entire room suddenly lit up, the walls came alive, screens appeared everywhere, showing a whole list of gibberish that didn't make much sense to Sora or Seira.

"These are the logs of this planet's system."

Selika stated, typing on a holo-keyboard that appeared before him. Asheraxia stepped forward, and pulled out another holo-keyboard, accessing the system as well.

"Oh? Asheraxia, you're helping too?"

Selika asked sarcastically. The vampire lord snorted at that.

"I despise men."

"I can tell. How about i change my body to a woman's?"

"You're still the same inside."

"How harsh."

Selika laughed as he pulled out more screens.

"You can change your body's gender?"

Sora wondered.

"I can. So can Asheraxia. Emilio can't. I can do it because it was Satia to gave me her body, and since it is the body of a goddess, it can change its structure. The body's default being female, but with a male soul, it can be altered to change. Though the body's gender can change because of the control of either body or the soul, the face is hard to change. Asheraxia, however, uses magic to change her body. Symbology, in the terms of the Eternal Sphere. As for Emilio... well-"

"Why the hell would i need to change my sex?"

The small demon god demanded.

"Hey, it could come in handy."

Selika shrugged, pulling out a screen that displayed the battle outside. The Eternal Sphere forces have surrounded the remaining forces of the three OPB killers by now, though Sora knew the casualty rate would be high.

"Hmm, as expected. The current technology for us is too low."

Selika sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't mind me asking.... but these are.... this isn't technology suited for this planet's development. This is simply too... advance."

Seira spoke up. Selika smiled at her question, before nodding to Asheraxia. The two god killers pulled out more screens, each detailing with words, and one large screen with videos. Videos of a more modern world.

"This planet, Senime, has gone through two whole cycles of civilization. The first cycle reached about the same technological advancement as Earth's 21st century, before internal strife and greed destroyed them all."

Selika showed records of destroyed buildings and scorched grounds.

"In the second cycle, the advancement managed to go further. Trying to learn from the mistakes of the first age, the second civilization were more peaceful, and they managed to advance to creating space travel. They were the first... humans, to venture space. Not humanoids, but humans. Like from Earth, or Elicoor II, humans from this planet were considered by the Eternal Sphere to be the most advanced. But soon all things had to come to an end. The planet was once again ravaged by war. Another planet vied for Senime's technological capabilities, and aimed to conquer it. Senime people tried to fight back, but their way of thinking were around peace, not war. In a last ditch effort, they created the different creatures that roam this planet and artificial OPBs."

"They WHAT?!"

Sora did not want to believe that. Selika smirked.

"Of course you wouldn't believe that. Emilio, is a clear example. He was once one of those artificial OPBs, a demon god as they call themselves."

Selika drew his sword, and the sword morphed in a human. The blue haired companion that Sora and Seira saw in Selika's house.

"This is Haishella, my companion. She too is an artificial god."

Haishella smiled at that, as though finding it very amusing.

"The artificial OPBs were meant to protect this planet and its people. And they did a very good job of it. The artificial army created by the Senime people completely destroyed the enemy forces, not leaving a single one of them left. But the price was too high. More than ninety per cent of the planet was reduced to scorched earth. The survivors decided to do the one thing they knew would solve their problem. Seal up the technology, and start anew. The OPBs were tasked with helping create the world, though over time they slowly forgot that they were artificially created, and their original purpose. Or maybe it was all in the plans of our ancestors. Senime is now going through its third civilization, and it has been placed us three to make sure that nothing goes wrong. To ensure that the technology doesn't advance too fast, or be led astray."

Selika finished, looking over to Asheraxia, who did not seem to like this story.

"... What about the different races? The subhumans? The feather folk? The seraphs? That vampire?"

Sora pointed at Asheraxia, who did not take offence.

"I think Asheraxia could explain that bit."

Selika nodded to Asheraxia, who sighed.

"Why must i do it?... Fine... During the previous civilization, the people ventured out into space, and met with many other races from other planets. They brought genetic samples, and some venturous beings from there, resulting in small populations growing. Even after the war, they still survived, and together with genetic cloning, small villages began to form once more. As for deformities... like me, i was once human. In fact, i was born before these two. I am the last known survivor from the last civilization."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't be too surprise, boy. You have yet to see anything. I was carried in my mother during the war, and my mother was hit by a heavy dose of radiation from an enemy's planetry bombardment. I was affected heavily, while my mother died giving birth to me. The effects on me caused me to be allergic to UV rays, and being able to draw blood from others to increase my own abilities, and ultimately stop aging at a certain age. Symbology just came with training that was given to me. I was one of the administrative officers in charge of the reformation of the planet, and so i knew what had happened over the years. I am unaging, and have little regard for these two idiots.... but this is a planet i grew up on, and i am pretty fond of it."

"She still isn't honest after all of these years. Satia's memories show that you've met her before."

Selika said. Asheraxia smirked at that.

"Yes, i met her when we were planning the reformation. She was one of the original OPBs on this planet, and she fought alongside the artificial OPBs during the war. She was far more polite than you would ever hope to be. As her successor, you should feel ashamed."

".... I know."

Selika's sudden change in character made Sora and Seira turn.

"Oh great, look at what you've done now? Selika is really sensitive about Astraea."

Haishella patted Selika on the back while glaring at Asheraxia, who simply continued to type on her keyboard.

"Proves he is still young... Selika, they're here."

Asheraxia pulled up a new screen, one showing a large force moving across the ocean. However, those weren't wooden boats or flying creatures. Those were battleships. Space battleships.

"WHAT?! Those are... Vendeeni and Yzak ships!"

Sora did not want this to happen now. He tapped his earpiece, connecting him to his officers outside.

"Report!"

'"Sir! They came out from nowhere! Vendeeni and Yzak fighters are coming in from the South end! We've lost C company and F company! Need immediate back-up!"'

"... Dammit! Wrath, come in, this is admiral Leingod. I need a report, stat!"

'"This is Lorden, sir, we've suddenly picked up Vendeeni and Yzak signatures near your vicinity, they appeared out from nowhere. Reports are coming in that unidentified ships and fighters are there as well."'

"I know! Send all reinforcements down now! I want all of our frigates and cruisers to enter atmosphere and begin to engage those ships! Battlecruisers and battleships should remain in high orbit, sweep for other enemies, and begin bombardment on those ships."

'"Yes sir. But... what about the OPB armies?"'

Sora looked at the three OPB killers in the room. He wasn't sure if he could trust them as of yet. But... now wasn't the time to be doubting people. Besides, if the Vendeeni and Yzaks were here, it could only mean one thing. Providence.

"Send out the word. We're now working WITH the OPB armies. All forces should concentrate fire on the Vendeeni and Yzaks. Make sure they do not get any closer than they should."

'"As you wish."'

"Are you sure?"

Emilio asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Since you three know that Providence wants you, you should know why we need you as well."

"You are trying to stop Providence from opening the gate to unleash the Executioners again. Well, i guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend. For now."

Emilio smirked, putting his hands behind his head while he leaned against the wall.

"Not a bad proposition. Hey Selika, you still got your maid army?"


	16. Chapter 16

**We Who Stand Watch**

Sora tapped on his ear piece as he and Seira brisk-walked their way out of the central chambers out back to their men who awaited their arrival.

"Check your rounds, make sure nothing is malfunctioning."

Seira instructed them as the entire group started to head out of the central structure. Sora did not like this arrangement, but he knew just how dangerous, and persistent, the Vendeeni can actually be. He eyed the people following him behind as they continued on. Selika Silwin with his.... maid army. Emilio wasn't kidding. About fifty girls in maid uniforms followed the god-slayer, armed with swords and spears they looked as organized and fearless as a regular army. And according to Emilio, Selika's 'maid' army numbers in the thousands. Not too sure whether that was a joke though.

"Don't let that bother you, boy."

Asheraxia spoke softly as she quickened her steps till she was next to Sora. The vampire lord always had a sense of being aloof, uncaring of any situation, as though time didn't matter for her. Well, now that Sora knew her past, he could understand. The last survivor from the previous civilization. A wild story, but he guess it could happen. Earthlings almost destroyed themselves too, though that was about eight hundred years ago. He also knew that Earth had gone through a couple of ice ages, so he guessed life could continue even after the world was destroyed.

"Don't let what bother me?"

"Selika and his army. They're well trained, and will do as they're told. You just worry about your shock troops keeping the enemy at where they're at. Do not let them push the lines forward."

"You don't need to tell me that."

Asheraxia smiled at that, and pointed forward, where the entrance was quickly coming into view. Sora did not wait till he was out of the door before he started barking orders.

"Formation against the Southern line! Now! I want all artillery support to fire upon the coordinates given by our eyes in the sky! Tank and walker squadrons should mix and spread out, one tank and one walker assigned to each battalion. Move it!"

The soldiers saluted as he walked out of the central building and into the open central plaza, where his men had set up a temporary command post. Sora turned to see a large group of maid wearing girls marching up to the command post, marching in unison with their boots stomping the ground together to amplify the sounds to make one thunderous clap each time their feet touched the ground. They stopped short before Selika, each standing firm and fierce that it made some of the men of the ES military feel afraid.

"Lord Silwin, we await your orders."

One of them, most likely the leader judging from the elaborate uniform compared to the others spoke up. Selika nodded in reply, turning to Asheraxia, who had her own army arrive. Thousands of armoured humans, elves and half elves had matched Selika's army in unison and determination.

"Mistress, we stand ready."

Asheraxia turned to Sora after addressing her lieutenant.

"Well then, admiral, i will lead my troops around to flank the enemy. Though i have no doubt that there would be a large number of casualties on our end due to the lack of technology, i'm sure my men will be able to deal a considerable amount of damage to the enemy."

Sora did not like that arrangement. He hated suicide missions, even if this vampire OPB was suppose to be his enemy. Seira had agreed with Sora's assessment. Even if this was the best option to decrease the number of casualties for all armies, it was still risky.

"No, i will not allow you to do that."

Sora replied firmly, directing his answer to Selika as well. The old god-killer simply smiled at his answer, probably expecting that sort of answer.

"No? Then what do you propose? The enemy outnumbers your troops five to one. They not only have advance technology on their side but numbers. And they seem to have an ally whose abilities are beyond you, am i right?"

Selika asked. Sora knew what that meant. The Vendeeni and Yzaks were not the only enemy out there. There was another force there. No identification class, but definitely alien to this world. Not to mention extremely powerful. It was like a parasitic entity, almost bug like. Why bugs of all things?

"Oi oi, don't you dare exclude us, you cold jerks."

A sharp voice made the twins turn. Len and Kaine came to the command post with their men, as did Shion and Leon.

"It took some time, but we had to clean up some idiots who thought blocking my path was a real brilliant idea."

Len stuck her finger into her ear to clear it out.

"So? Where do you need us?"

Leon asked, waiting for Sora to give his orders. Sora looked at his friends, each of them were strong as fighters and competent leaders. But even with their help, would they be able to.... No, it can work. He WILL make it work. He turned to his officers, raising his hand to them ready to give out commands.

"All troops shall concentrate their fire forward, lay down a suppressing fire over the enemy. Asheraxia, Selika, use that opportunity to get your troops in position here and here. We will draw the enemy into our lines and surround them. Sion, Leon, go with Asheraxia. Len, Kaine, follow Selika."

"Hey, what about me?"

Emilio wondered, just as a woman with a strange cat like ears and tail appeared by his side.

"Master, i'm glad you're safe."

The woman said, bowing to Emilio.

"Same to you, Lilly. So? What can i do?"

Emilio turned to Sora, who studied the newcomer. No doubt this Lilly person is a familiar. And a strong one. This could be useful.

"Emilio will support me and Seira in our forward assault. When i give the signal, all forces shall converge to central point and kill every single enemy before us. I will update my men's ally recognition codes to ensure no one is mixed up."

Sora turned to a lieutenant, who nodded and went to relay that order to the personnel in charge of the recognition systems.

"What about your guns? A misfire could occur."

Asheraxia pointed out.

"You don't have to worry about that. Close combat is something the ES military is proud of."

* * *

"The battle seems to be against them.... Are you sure you don't need to step in?"

The cloaked man asked his companion, who simply sat there on the stone rooftop overlooking the battle below. His companion chewed on the long stick that looked like an extremely long metal toothpick, silently observing the battle below. The cloaked man sighed, shaking his head at his companion's complete silence.

"Do you really feel nothing for them? I mean, sure, you've been away for so long, but they are still-"

"There isn't need for me to step in. Those kids can take care of this mess."

He pointed down to the central plaza, where two large armies were splitting off to the sides, hiding within the alleyways and buildings.

"They plan to flank the enemy after pulling them in.... Then... Bang."

His companion mimicked a gunshot with his finger with a smile. The cloaked man still did not understand much about his companion. Could this man really be so carefree even in a time like this?

"... Even if they do have powerful pieces, it takes great skill and a powerful strategic mind to combat the enemy they face now."

"You don't have to worry about that. They have an extremely clever strategist working with them. They can definitely count on her for anything."

"You mean the Loid girl?"

"The Loids hold a very special blood. Combined with their physical and mental capabilities, they make the ultimate warriors... Well, just watch."

He ducked just as a motor shell blew up the bunker near his. The enemy forces were pushing harder than ever. Pulling out his navigation map from his wrist computer, he checked the status of the battle. Ally forces were still pushing forward to get into position. But the main force, which was where he was at, was starting to suffer heavy losses.

"Lorden, situation update."

'"Sir, the forces of OPB Silwin are in position. OPB Asheraxia would be in position ETA two minutes."'

"Too slow... what about orbit?"

'"We've got their battleships on the run, though five of our ships are down. We lost the 'Emerald Young' and the 'Forgotten Blue' completely. No survivors."'

He hated these sort of reports. The enemy was on the run, but at what cost?

"We need reinforcements. Can you-"

'"Reinforcements are en-route. Admiral Loid had ordered five additional battalions down on your position. Expect touchdown in one minute."'

He did not expect that. Kirimi had been brought back to her ship, the Vertigo, and was suppose to be resting with Faite watching over her condition. But then again, he knew Kirimi to be one who refused to sit down. Five battalions, that was an additional twenty five squads of infantry, fifteen battle tanks and twenty walkers. He glanced over to the teleporter rings. Among the ten that were set up, only three remained in functional condition.

"Seira! Back-up in one minute! Make sure the rings are safe!"

Sora shouted to his sister over the explosion of motor shells.

"Understood! Sergeant! I want two squads on the rings! Nothing is to touch them, understand?"

The sergant saluted, and barked orders to the two nearest squadrons.

"How many more tanks do we have left?"

Sora turned a lieutenant.

"Two left sir-"

An explosion cut the soldier off mid-sentence. The lieutenant peered over the barricade, then ducked back under.

"Make that one, sir."

".... Great. Emilio."

Sora turned to the demon lord, who was sitting in a rather relaxed position against the barricade. Somehow, that pose really irritated Sora. Being allies for now, Sora had to restrain that impulse.

"I need you and your forces to keep those advancing Vendeeni at bay."

Emilio smirked, getting up to his feet without caring for the constant laser and motor fire.

"Those uglies? Alright. But hey, you won't mind if i defeat them, do you?"

"Hmph, i don't care if you blow this place up. Just do it."

"You talk big for a kid. Come on Lilly, we have work."

The demon Lord jumped over the barricade with his familiar, charging straight for the enemy ranks. Sora did not need to know the full extent of that OPB's power, having witnessed Selika's presence it. Selika was this planet's strongest OPB, no doubt about that fact. Baring witness to Selika's power was more than enough for Sora to guage this planet's abilities. He tapped his earpiece.

"Are the troops in place? Len? Sion?"

'"We're in place, Sora."'

'"We've been waiting on our sorry butts for five minutes already! I can see the bloody whites in those bloody Vendeeni! Wait... they don't have whites in their pupils.... Oh bloody hell! I can freaking see their bloody cortexes and optic tracts from where i'm standing!"'

Ah, Len was getting impatient. Maybe contacting Kaine was a better choice. He checked his wrist computer. Ten seconds.

"... Both of you, on my mark."

He counted down. Five. Four. Three. Two. One-

"NOW!"

* * *

The battle was at a stalemate at that moment. Vendeeni ground forces had combined with Yzak mecha forcing their way in towards the centre of the city. Only the main force of the ESF military stationed at the centre plaza and the forces of Emilio the demon God were there to stem the tide of enemy forces. But within an instant, all changed. From the right and left flanks of the enemy, additional forces sprung out from the buildings and alleyways, successfully sandwiching the enemy. Although they had a primitive sort of technology, the forces of God-killer Selika and Vampire Asheraxia were more than effective in pushing the enemy towards the centre plaza, where five additional battalions of troops teleported in, adding additional support for the troops of the main force. Tanks and walkers appeared, taking immediate action against their enemies. In the face of overwhelming odds, even the technologically advanced Yzaks, and military might of the Vendeeni forces were proven to be useless.

The fighting became even more intense as the ESF forces switched their weapons in favour of physical close combat fighting. The ESF military had been trained thoroughly in many forms of fighting. Each soldier was trained to use different weaponry from at least three systems. They were trained in hand to hand combat, martial arts, at least five types of physical weaponry, and symbology. As such, when it came to close combat fighting, the ESF were feared to be one of the best in the entire milky way. The battle was coming to a close, the combined forces routing the remaining enemy forces, before they turned their attention to the enemy base located at the South. Vendeeni and Yzak ships were still there, including the one Grigori leading them. The combined forces pushed their way Southward, easily overcoming the nearly deserted guard posts towards the enemy base. They had pushed nearly towards the end, and Sora could see the landingships of the Vendeeni and Yzaks.

While the Vendeeni normally charged forward with their leader at the head, the Yzaks had their commanders had the rear. That meant that while the Vendeeni had lost their leader in the previous skirmish, the Yzaks still had their military strength. The Grigori who was with the Yzaks also had another trick up his hand. Though their presence wasn't strong previously, now it was here that the full blunt of the Grigori's forces lay. Bugs. Really large creatures with exo-skeletal shells that resisted all laser, rail, electrical projectiles. Even for close combat those shells proved to be tough to cut.

Sora directed a battle tank to the front. The tank crashed straight into a large beetle like creature, forcing the creature over itself. But just as the tank was beginning to break the enemy line with its momentum, a new bug rushed forward, using its pincer to clamp down on the tank, and tossing it into the air like it was a toy. Sora ducked as the tank came crashing into the ground, exploding upon impact. The bugs were forcing another stalemate, and that was the last thing he needed. He spotted Selika, the god killer easily cutting a bug into two. Asheraxia, the vampire queen, also tore through a bug the size of a tank easily into shreds. The OPBs were strong, some of the strongest Sora had ever seen.

"... But we're still not making any progress."

Sora noted. It was true that while the two god killers were killing off the bugs as easily as Sora would swat away a normal sized bug back on Earth. A tank fired a round at the bugs, but a certain large beetle batted its wings, deflecting the round away. Was that even possible?

"We need additional firepower... Are they done up in orbit?"

Sora was tempted to call in with his wrist communicator, but he noticed an additional group of soldiers coming from the rear. More reinforcements? This would be the third one Kirimi sent. Just how long does she think she can continue with sending troops to this impossible stalemate? But that was when he noticed something else. Two additional people who stood out from the rest of the troops of the reinforcement regiment. Kirimi and Faite.

"... FAITE?!?!"

Sora felt his vocal cords strain as he shouted.

"Hey, good to see you're very much alive, Sora."

Kirimi smiled, reaching the front-lines with Faite.

"Kirimi! What are you thinking?! Bringing Faite to a place like this-"

"I know, i know. Sheesh, you're such a worrisome guy. But we need every fighter in this."

Kirimi winced, clutching onto her abdomen. The wound from before still hadn't healed and yet she still forced herself onto the command chair to give orders and even drop down to participate in the battles herself. Sora didn't like it. He didn't want to see her suffer.

"... Don't push it."

Was all he said. Kirimi smiled weakly, before getting to her feet. She surveyed the situation and immediately turned to one of the tanks. She pressed a couple of keys in her wrist device, sending orders to the tank directly. Soon, the tank rolled forward. The large machine pushed forward, firing a round at the enemy. The same large beetle deflected the bullet, but as the round flew up, it exploded, raining shrapnel down all over the bugs. With this, the bug's line was broken. Kirimi turned to Sora.

"I need your powers, Sora."

Sora knew what she meant, and nodded. He stood up on top of the barricade he was using for cover activating his symbol. Kirimi stood behind him. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Wrapping her arms around his waist, this scene certainly provoked quite a lot of envy from a certain girl. Sora himself was feeling rather embarrassed with this position, not having done this in a long while. Kirimi's scent, her body pressing against his back, her warmth, her breath against his neck. If this wasn't stimulating in a sexual manner, Sora did not know what was. But soon, he felt her energy flowing in him. Her foreign energy mixed with his, changing its structure to match his own, and amplifying his symbol's power nearly five folds. While Kirimi did not have the normal Loid powers, she still held the Loid blood.

When young, it was noticed that Kirimi just did not have the talent that her mother or younger sister had. Kirimi did not wanted to be considered 'worthless' just because she did not have the powers that her blood was meant to have, and so trained constantly to make up for her handicap. Her strategic mind, her skills with weapons, and finally she soon discovered a skill that was within the Loid blood that she could use. The Loid skills were based upon copying and replicating, but it was also possible to duplicate a skill and apply it directly to that user, allowing an amplification of that skill. It was a skill that Kirimi's mother, the matriarch of the Loid clan, Karin Loid, had discovered during the executioner war. Karin had amplified the symbol of Maria Leingod, which resulted in Maria's already large cannon to enlarge into the size of a frigate ship.

Kirimi honed this skill that her mother discovered, not only becoming proficient in it, but bringing it to new levels. Sora summoned his swords. Thousands, millions of them. Behind him, the avatar of his symbol, the wild swordsman, Wrath, appeared as a giant. Towering over everything around him, including the buildings, Wrath conjured up a giant sword to match his size. The swords that Sora materialized shot forward like a machine gun, constantly firing at the enemy, peppering the enemies with holes the size of boulders. Sora's avatar, Wrath, brought his sword up into the air, and swung it down, slicing the Vendeeni and Yzak ships with one strike. At that moment, Kirimi let go, and Sora dismissed his symbol, turning around to catch Kirimi just as she fell.

"You're too reckless."

He sighed. Kirimi only smiled back.

"You know me."

"Ahem. Can the two of you get a room?"

A voice made Sora look up. Seira and Sion stood there, towering over him with some sort of flamed fury burning behind them. Did he do something wrong? He must because he blacked out from their punches right after.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This is the last chapter for this run... i'll be posting again... soon? Or maybe not.

* * *

**A Lost Face**

The battle was over when the Grigori was killed by Sora's avatar. The ESF troops marched through, rounding up any survivors and clearing up the place. But it wasn't all over. Seira checked up on Kirimi, and once satisfied with the other admiral's condition, left the tent. The others of the group had gathered and Seira had a chance to check their condition. Len and Kaine were more or less free of any wounds, though Len was complaining about her sword having chips in it. Sion had two ribs broken and a cracked collarbone when she tried to take on one of those giant bugs head on, so she was wincing at the pain as a medic ran a bone mender over her injuries. Leon had a dislocated arm, but he would be fine.

Faite was sitting on a supply crate, eating a sandwich that was probably given to her by one of the troops. That girl sure had it easy in her life. Peppitta wasn't injured, and she wasn't looking interested in anything, looking over data brought over to her by one of the sergeants who took it off the Yzak commander. Maybe more clues to the enemy's plan. Sora was still passed out, and Seira felt slightly guilty about that. She did feel irritated that Kirimi was clinging all over Sora, but it was more like she felt she needed to correct that one thought that appeared in her head from Sora. A very lewd thought that needed to be corrected from his mind at that very instant. Seira turned to the OPBs who waited by the side. Selika Silwin, Asheraxia, and Demon God Emilio. Seira knew she had to address them.

"So? What becomes of us?"

Emilio asked.

"I would ask you three to come with us. Although the enemy has been pushed back, we know that they will return. I'm sure you've seen the enemy and their abilities. By yourselves, it would be impossible to counter their abilities."

Seira explained. Selika and Asheraxia nodded in reply. Emilio simply snorted to that.

"But you don't need all three of us."

Selika spoke up, getting Seira's interest in that.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Having three god killers in your fleet must make it more difficult for your side. The more OPBs you gather, the higher the risk it is for the enemy to directly assault your task force. Splitting up would be best. We can seal Emilio's administrative rights and leave him here, since he is the lowest in authority here."

Asheraxia explained. Seira had thought of that possibility of being attacked, but to seal the administrative rights? Was that possible?

"With two administrators, it is possible. Emilio."

Asheraxia turned to the demon God, who sighed, stepping forward.

"Fine, just do what you want. In return, you two will go beat up the enemy so badly they won't think about messing with us again. For our planet's sake. And you'll let me invade the Southern continent."

Emilio narrowed his eyes at the other two God killers as he set his terms. Selika shrugged, looking at Asheraxia who did not really have any reaction or change to her expression whatsoever. Most likely she agreed to that as well.

"Alright then. Asheraxia, let's get started."

Selika stood by Emilio's left, and raised his hand to the demon god's shoulder. Asheraxia stood on the right and did the same. A symbol appeared on the floor, with Emilio in the centre. The symbol flared up for a moment, then disappeared.

"It is done."

Asheraxia stepped back.

"Good. If that's the case, i'll get my troops ready. Hey Selika, mind if i use your maid army?"

"As long as you don't do anything lewd to them, sure. Go find Eclear, she's my head maid and had served as my head general for nearly a thousand years. If there is anything you need, she can provide. And remember, DON'T do ANYTHING to them."

Selika stressed that part 'don't do anything' especially. Emilio smirked, and walked off. Seira pulled out her screen, and checked. The planet's system had just registered Emilio's administrative rights nulled. So such things were possible. Seira found this to be interesting, and if possible, she wondered if she could intrude into another planet's system and seal off all administrative rights to the OPBs.

But thinking about it again, it probably wasn't feasible. Intruding into another planet's administrative system was only possible by the mainframe's administration group. And they are the people over in 4-D space. Plus, who knows what would happen if they were to cancel out all of the OPB's administrative rights? Worst case scenario is that all life on that planet would die due to being cut off from the system itself. So much for that idea.

"Alright, so you two will have to follow me."

Seira said, turning around to find a teleporter station, but stopped when she sensed something amiss. She turned back, and saw two figures standing behind Selika.

"What the-"

Seira barely said anything more before one of the figures rushed at her, swinging a giant blade. Seira barely had time to react, but Asheraxia drew her sword and protected Seira. The assailant jumped back, assessing the situation. The second figure walked up to Selika, who seemed to smile with a mysterious look.

"Sorry girl, but i'm following these fellows. Sorry to burst your bubble like that. But it is also for the best."

Selika winked, before disappearing together with the figure with the sword. Seira did not know what to react to, everything happening so quickly. But she regained herself, and summoned her symbol, creating a holding barrier around the remaining figure. The person wore a cloak and could not be recognized, but there was something about that person that was familiar.

"Who are you?! Where did you take Selika?"

"...... You ask too many questions. Just like your mother."

The person spoke. Seira knew that voice, but she couldn't remember. Where. Where did she hear this voice from? The person snapped his fingers, and her barrier shattered. Her strongest barrier, unique to her and nearly invincible, shattered just like that. By now, Len and the others rushed over. Len did not hesitate, swinging her sword at the figure, who stopped the blade with only a hand. Kaine summoned flames at the person's feet, and a pillar erupted, engulfing the person in flames. But the flames died away almost immediately, leaving the man unscathed. But his cloak was burned, and his face was revealed.

Seira gasped in horror at who she saw. The face, unchanged throughout the years. The face she saw many years ago, the one who left them. The one who disappeared that night. She was still awake when he came into their room, lightly kissing her forehead and saying a word of goodbye. She thought he was only leaving for a long journey. But he disappeared, never to appear before them again. Leaving their mother in a depressed state, letting dangers surround their family and the ESF. The man who left his family. Her father. Fayt Leingod.

"Fa-father?"

".... You've grown, Seira. You've grown a lot and i've seen how much all of you have grown over the years. But it isn't enough. The enemy you fave is nothing compared to what you have fought just now. This is only the beginning, Seira.... And Sora."

Seira turned around, and saw that her twin brother was up and holding onto one of his summoned swords, glaring at the man who is their father.

"Who do you think you are?! Showing up now after you disappeared so long ago?! Do you think you can just appear before us now and tell us what to do?!"

Fayt did not reply, nor did his expression change. He turned his gaze to Faite, who was staring transfixed at him. Faite had never seen her father, and now here he was.

"..... I see. I came merely to warn you not to let down your guard. Next time we meet, i will not hold back, even if you are my own children. If you value your lives, go back to Earth and stay there. This fight isn't for fun and games."

With that, Fayt disappeared. Once more from their eyes.

* * *

Fayt teleported back onto the flagship Eternal Vengence, stepping off the teleport pad and saw a certain person leaning against the wall.

".... What?"

Fayt shot a glare at the man, who did not seem all too happy.

"...... Don't over step your bounds. I don't remember allowing you to use 'that', and i certainly did not remember telling you that you could talk to them."

Fayt snorted at that, walking towards the door. But the man was not done with him yet. Grabbing Fayt by the collar, he forced Fayt to stare straight into his eyes. Identical eyes.

"Don't you dare do that again. Know your place, clone."

Disgusted by that sentence, 'Fayt' pushed the man off, straightening his shirt.

"I don't you to remind me that."

* * *

**Onboard ESF Battleship, Judgement Fleet Flagship, Truth**

Seira was deep in thought. Leaning in her command chair, legs crossed and chin resting on her hand, the admiral was having a lot of conflicting thoughts in her mind. For one, the list of casualties was long. They lost a lot of good men in that battle. The enemy was much stronger than the reports detailed, and thus they were caught ill-prepared. Second thing on Seira's mind was their second target. It was a far off system that had a report of an OPB gone missing. But with their military strength current severely weakened, Seira thought it would be best if they only sent in a scouting group.

If there are enemies still lingering there, a small group would be less conspicuous, and they wouldn't lose that much strength in the worst case scenario. Another thing on Seira's mind, was the group itself. Sora was back on his ship, but had to be restrained in the infirmary against his own wishes by order of herself and Kirimi. The OPB who remained, Asheraxia, stayed on Seira's ship, and was currently accessing her ship's database. The sight of an OPB who dressed in clothes of her planet accessing a complex data frame like it was child's play was slightly unnerving. Sion and Leon were on Kirimi's ship, the Vertigo, and were monitoring Kirimi's condition. Leon was the most qualified in the group to use complex medical procedures that were applicable only to the Loids.

Faite was on Sora's ship, making sure that the reckless admiral did not do anything reckless. Faite was chosen by Seira since Seira knew that Sora could not go against Faite's wishes. Len and Kaine were on Seira's ship, acting as 'guards' for Asheraxia. Seira had to make sure Len wasn't being too agitated and try to pick a fight with the OPB. The last thought on Seira's mind, and the one that worried her the most, was Fayt Leingod. The hero of the Eternal Sphere, God-slayer Fayt. Seira didn't remember much about her father, as the great hero disappeared when she was still young. What she remembered were days of darkness. When he left, the entire family seemed to fall apart. Her mother became severely depressed, even in the midst of the Executioner war.

The wounds from that event left a terrible scar and it took a long time to recover from it. What was that man thinking? Appearing before them now? Has to do with the recent chain of events? Her mother had not spoken much about her father, but what she was told was that her father sacrificed himself to seal off the main access point of the Eternal Sphere's mainframe, where the program for the Executioners had gone berserk. No one knew what was held beyond those doors, but Seira theorized that since the gate is the access point of the Executioner Program to enter the Eternal Sphere, then beyond the gate must hold millions of those Executioners. Seira had heard of the many tales surrounding her father, how he single handedly defeated hundreds, thousands of Executioners.

But even with such skill, the unlimited waves of Executioners would surely exhaust anyone, be they hero or not. Because of this logic, Seira had long thought her father to be dead. But for him to be alive, that was something she did not expect. And what he said bothered her. The battle would only worsen. He knows what is happening, and probably is aware of the things to come. But should she really heed his warnings? She is an admiral of the Eternal Sphere Federation, and once she had been given a mission, not to mention it coming directly from the chairwoman of the Federation and her own mother, she would complete it no matter what. The entire situation was getting out of hand. Should she send a report back to Earth? Should she let her mother know what was going on? That would be for the best and it is the normal procedure, but in this case, she just did not know what to do.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seira looked up and saw the vampire lord standing by her command chair. As usual, the OPB seemed to be emotionless, though Seira thought she felt a slight hint of boredom. Seira did not need to tell the OPB though, since it was more than likely that Asheraxia could read her mind.

"Mind reading isn't my hobby, you know."

Or so she claims. Seira did not know what to think of the OPB. A mysterious, silent, emotionless woman who appeared to be in her late teens. And in truth, she's probably over five thousand years old and has enough power to destroy ten ESF fleets by herself. For now, Seira decided to indulge the OPB. It might be better for her mind.

"What do you think of what just occurred down below?"

Seira asked.

"You mean, by the meeting of your father? I assume that you haven't seen in for a long time."

".... He left when i was four. I couldn't even remember what he looked like if i didn't constantly look at pictures of him from time to time. For him to appear now... and to tell us to leave.... Honestly all of it is too much too soon."

Seira sighed, pulling out a screen from her console that detailed a report of her father. This was a top secret profile document that Seira found when she hacked into the ESF database when she was twelve. It was the first time she saw a full detailed profile of her own father, containing birth records, education, his adventures that led to the discovery of 4-D space, and his service records with the military that would later become the Eternal Sphere Federation. It was through this that she learned the truth behind her father's disappearance.

"... Is that man really your father?"

Asheraxia questioned, making Seira look up to the OPB with a confused look.

"What do you mean-"

"That.... man. He didn't seem normal... almost transparent. It is as if he is a...."

Asheraxia trailed off, making Seira slightly unnerved.

"As if?"

".... Nevermind. It isn't my place to question life. So? What do you plan to do now that i'm with you?"

Seira did not like it that the vampire lord did not finish what she was thinking of. But maybe it wasn't important. She closed the screen report of her father, before pulling out another screen with a list of all known OPBs and the status of each of them and the fleets. The five admirals were to handle to more difficult OPBs while the rest of the fleets were to spread out, searching for other OPBs and for any sign of Providence.

"For now, we would have to wait till our fighting strength is at least seventy percent. After that last battle, we are down to a mere thirty percent. Initially, we needed to bring you and the other OPBs to the Lunar detaining centre on Earth's Moon. However things have taken a turn of the worst, we cannot expect where Providence would appear next and judging by the previous battle i do not think we can trust on the Lunar base defences to do much to hold off an invasion. We'll head back to Elicoor II to resupply and re-arm. So for the time being, you'll be staying with us."

".... I see."

Asheraxia's expression still did not change as she nodded and left the bridge. Seira leaned back in her chair, heaving a sigh. OPBs were very difficult to understand and handle. Now she could only hope the other team has had it easier.


End file.
